Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

London, England, Earth, March 2005...

An alarm clock beeped in the bedroom of a South London flat, arousing 19-year-old Rose Tyler from her slumber. The young blonde smacked the clock to stop the noise and dragged herself out of bed to begin her day. She was soon dressed and bidding goodbye to her mother Jackie, before leaving for work.

Rose worked as a customer assistant in the ladies section at Henriks department store on Oxford Street. Her morning passed without incident. She performed her usual daily tasks of putting clothes out on the shop floor, helping customers in the changing rooms and serving customers on the checkouts. At lunch time, she met up with her boyfriend Mickey Smith in Trafalgar Square, where they had lunch, a laugh, teasing each other and kissing each other.

After lunch, Rose returned to Henriks for several more hours of shop work until at last 6 PM came and the store closed. Rose was just reaching the door ready to go home when a security guard waved a bag of money in her face. Today was Friday, which meant it was the day the money was handed in for Henriks' lottery syndicate. Rose begrudgingly took the the money and rode in the lift to the store's cellar.

When she stepped out of the lift, she found the cellar deserted, which was unusual, as there was usually technicians and cleaners working down there. "Wilson?" Rose called out, heading down the corridor to the door that led to chief electrician H.P Wilson's office. "Wilson, I've got the lottery money." Rose said, knocking on the door, but she received no answer. "Wilson, you there? Look, I can't hang about 'cos they're closing the shop. Wilson?!" There was still no answer. "Uh, come on!" Rose grumbled to herself. She just wanted to go home, have chips for dinner and go down the pub with Mickey for the evening. A sudden sound came from further down the corridor and Rose snapped her head in that direction. "Hello?" she called as she went to investigate. "Hello, Wilson, It's Rose. Hello?" She stopped outside a pair of fire doors and pushed them open to find herself in a storeroom full of shop floor dummies. She turned the light on and ventured further in the room. "Wilson?" she called out. "Wilson?" She was just trying a door at the side of the room when the doors she'd entered through suddenly slammed shut by themselves. Rose ran back and tried to open them, but they wouldn't budge. Then, she heard a creaking sound from somewhere behind her. "Is that someone mucking about?" Rose called out, ventured back into the room. "Who is it?"
Suddenly, a dummy's head turned on it's own accord. Rose turned around just in time to see it step out of it's alcove and slowly walk towards her. "Heh... ya got me, very funny." she said as she backed away. The dummy said nothing and continued to walk towards her. Two more dummies came to life and joined it. "Right, I've got the joke." Rose said, getting unnerved now. "Who's idea was this? Was it Derek's, is it?" The three dummies continued to advance on Rose. "Derek, is this you?" she called, continuing to back away. More and more dummies came to life and soon, every dummy in the store room was advancing on Rose, who backed away from them until she tripped on a box and found herself cornered against the wall, the dummies advancing on her from all sides. As they closed the distance, the first dummy raised it's arm, ready to deliver a karate chop. Rose closed her eyes and braced herself for the blow.

Suddenly, she felt a hand take hers and she opened her eyes to look at the owner of the hand; a tall man in his early forties with close-cut brown hair, piercing blue eyes, rather prominent ears, a hawk-like nose and dressed in a battered black leather jacket, a burgundy V-neck jumper, black trousers and black doc martin boots. "Run!" he urged Rose, his voice a thick Lancashire accent. And so they ran! The man pulled Rose out of the way as the dummy's arm came down and sliced through a pipe like a knife through butter. Rose and the man burst through the doors and raced down the corridor towards the lift with the army of dummies in close pursuit.

When they reached the lift, Rose could see that it was being held open by a very pretty young woman in her early twenties with long, wavy, chestnut brown hair, hazel eyes, an ivory complexion and dressed in a black leather jacket, a black tank top, black skinny jeans, black biker boots and black fingerless gloves. Once Rose and the man were inside the lift, the brunette woman hit the button for the ground floor and the doors began to close. But before they could close fully, the dummies caught up with them and one stuck it's arm through the doors, preventing them from closing properly. Both the man and the woman tugged on the arm until it came off with a pop and the doors closed. "You pulled his arm off!" Rose stared.

"Yep, plastic." the man said nonchalantly, tossing the arm to Rose, who caught it and looked it closely. It was solid plastic al the way through.

"Very clever, nice trick!" Rose remarked. "Who were they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?"

"Why would they be students?" the woman quizzed. Unlike the man, she spoke with a Surrey accent.

"I dunno." Rose shrugged.

"Well, you said it." the man said. "Why students?"

"'Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly... they gotta be students." Rose reasoned.

"That makes sense, well done." the man said in a patronising tone.

"Thanks." Rose retorted, matching his tone.

"They're not students." the man said darkly.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds 'em, he's gonna call the police."

"Who's Wilson?" the man asked.

"Chief electrician."

"Wilson's dead." the man said matter-of-factually as the lift doors opened and he stepped out. The woman gave Rose an apologetic look and followed him.

"That's just not funny, that's sick!" Rose burst out as she followed them out onto the ground floor, emerging in a back corridor.

Once they were all clear of the lift, the woman reached into her inside jacket pocket and produced a small silver metal cylindrical object with a blue light on the end and aimed it at the lift controls. "Stand back." she warned Rose, and switched the device on, causing it to light up and emit a strange buzzing noise.

"I've had enough of this now!" Rose grumbled, then she yelped and flinched as sparks flew out of the lift controls. "Who're you two, then?" she questioned as the man and woman walked off down the corridor. "Who's that lot down there?" Rose insisted as she followed them. "I said who are they?!"

"They're made of plastic." the man explained. "Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He reached into his pocket and produced a homemade bomb; two blocks of C4 with a timer strapped to them. "So..." he continued as they reached a fire exit and opened it, "we're gonna go upstairs and blow it up. And we might well die in the process. But don't worry about us, no. Go home, go on! Go and have yer lovely beans on toast."

"And whatever ya do, don't tell anyone else about this." the woman warned Rose as they ushered out into an alleyway behind Henriks. "'Cos if you do, you'll put them in danger."

The doors were slammed shut and Rose was left staring in bemusement. Suddenly, the doors opened again to reveal the two strangers. "I'm the Doctor, by the way." the man introduced. "And this is Gazelle." He gestured to the woman, who gave Rose a small wave. "What's yer name?"

"Rose." the befuddled blonde replied.

"Nice to meet yer, Rose. Run for yer life." the Doctor grinned manically, waggling his homemade bomb, then he and Gazelle shut the doors again.

Rose stared at the closed doors for a moment, still trying to comprehend what was going on, then she remembered the bomb and so she turned and ran down the alleyway until she reached the main road, then she ran over to the other side, nearly getting run over by a black cab in the process. Rose ran until she was a safe distance and looked back just in time to see Henriks explode in an enormous fireball. All the windows were blown out and flames tore through the structure of the building. Rose stared at the burning building for a moment, before turning and running off towards the bus stop to go home. In her shock, she didn't realise that she was still holding the plastic arm, nor did she notice a blue police public call box from the 1960's tucked away in an alcove between two buildings.

~8~

Rose was soon back at home in the Tyler family flat on the Powell Estate. The telly was turned to BBC News 24, which was doing a report on the Henriks fire, and Rose was sat on the settee watching the news. "The whole of Central London has been closed off as police investigate the fire." the newsreader announced. "Earlier reports in the..."

Just then, Jackie entered the room with a cup of tea for her daughter in one hand and the phone pressed to her ear. "I know, it's on the telly! It's everywhere!" she said into the phone. "She's lucky to be alive!" She handed Rose the tea. "Honestly, it's aged her. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was her daughter! Oh, and here's himself..." she remarked as Mickey appeared in the doorway.

"I've been phoning your mobile." Mickey fussed to Rose. "You could've been dead! It's been on the news and everything! I can't believe that your shop went up!" And he hugged his girlfriend tightly.

"I'm alright, honestly, I'm fine!" Rose reassured him. She loved Mickey, but he could be very clingy at times. "Don't make a fuss!"

"Well, what happened?" Mickey asked her.

"I dunno." Rose lied, remembering what Gazelle had said about putting people in danger.

"What was it, though. What caused it?" Mickey persisted.

"I wasn't in the shop, I was outside. I didn't see anything..."

Just then, Jackie returned, still on the phone. "It's Debbie on the other end." she said to Rose. "She knows a man from the Mirror. 500 quid for an interview."

"Oh, that's brilliant! Give it here!" Rose said sarcastically, taking the phone and hanging up.

"Well, you've gotta find some way of making money." Jackie remarked. "Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out." Rose could see her point; Jackie had sacrificed a lot in single-handedly bringing her daughter up after the death of her husband Pete in a hit-and-run back in 1987 and Jackie had continued to support Rose through her teenage years, even after the Jimmy Stone fiasco. The phone rang again and Jackie answered. "Bev! She's alive! I told her 'Sue for compensation.' She was within seconds of death..." Jackie went off into the kitchen, gabbling for England.

Rose turned her attention to her cup of tea. "Whatcha drinking? Tea?" Mickey questioned. "No, no, no, that's no good. You're in shock, ya need something stronger."

"I'm alright." Rose insisted.

"You deserve a proper drink." Mickey persisted. "You and me, we're going down the pub, my treat. How about it?"

"Is there a match on?" Rose smiled, knowing Mickey by heart.

"I'm just thinking about you, babe!" Mickey protested.

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose said knowingly.

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point." Mickey said hastily. "We could catch the last five minutes."

"Go on, then, go." Rose told her boyfriend. "I'm fine really, really. Go. Get rid of that." She gestured to the dummy's arm, which was lying on an armchair.

Mickey pointed to his lips and Rose gave him a kiss. He pushed her back into the chair and they shared a laugh. Mickey got up to leave and Rose put a leg out to trip him up. Mickey picked up the arm and made for the door. "Bye-bye!" he said in a silly voice, waving with the arm.

"Bye." Rose called back. Mickey then pretended to strangle himself with the arm and left the flat. Rose shook her head fondly and turned back to the news.

"... fire then spread throughout the store..." the newsreader was saying. "... there is very little chance of saving the infrastructure..."

~8~

Mickey walked across the estate and tossed the arm into a bin, and that was that, or so he thought...

~8~

Next morning, Rose's alarm clock went off at 7:30 as usual and she whacked it to shut it up, then sat up in bed "There's no point in getting up, sweetheart." Jackie's voice called. "You've got no job to go to."

Rose flopped back on the pillow to have a lie in. An hour later, Rose was sat at the breakfast table contemplating her prospects. Thanks to the Jimmy Stone fiasco, she had no A-level qualifications, so that severely limited her employment options. She'd been very lucky to get the Henriks job, and that had literally gone up in smoke.

"There's Finch's." Jackie suggested "You could try them. They've always got jobs."

"Oh great, the butchers!" Rose huffed

"Well, it might do you good." Jackie persisted. "That shop was giving ya airs and graces. And I'm not joking about getting compensation. You've had genuine shock and trauma! Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek." Rose was about to retort to that, but Jackie was ready for it. "And I know she is Greek, but that's not the point, it was a valid claim." she said as went off to her bedroom to dry her hair.

Just then, Rose heard a rattling sound and stood up to investigate. "Mum, ya such a liar." she grumbled "I told ya to nail that cat flap down, we're gonna get strays!"

"I did it weeks back!" Jackie called indignantly from her room.

"Nah, you thought about it!" Rose huffed, going to the front door. She found that Jackie had indeed nailed the cat flap down, but the nails had fallen out onto the floor. Then, the flap moved suddenly, causing Rose to leap back. She came forward again and gently prodded the flap, then pushed it open to see the Doctor's face on the other side.

Rose promptly stood and opened the door just as the Doctor stood too. "What you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"I live here."

"Well, what d'yer do that for?"

"'Cos I do." Rose retorted. "I'm only at home 'cos someone blew up my job!"

The Doctor paid her no attention. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver and blue light-up metal cylinder identical to the one Gazelle had used to disable the lift in Henriks last night, only his had a cream crackle finish to the handle instead of the cyan finish Gazelle's one had. "Must've picked up the wrong signal." he muttered, switching the blue light on for a moment, then he put the device away and turned to Rose. "Yer not plastic, are you?" he asked rhetorically as he knocked on her forehead like a door. "Nope, bonehead. Bye, then." He made to leave, but Rose grabbed his arm.

"You, inside, right now." she demanded, pulling him into the flat, determined to get some answers

"Who is it?" Jackie called from her bedroom.

"It's about last night." Rose told her, poking her head through the bedroom door. "He's part of the inquiry. Give us 10 minutes." she went off to the living room, while the Doctor paused in the hallway, looking around with interest.

"She deserves compensation." Jackie told him.

"Huh, we're talking millions." the Doctor answered, going along with the charade.

Jackie looked at him for a moment, then stood up flirtatiously. "I'm in my dressing gown."

"Yes, you are." the Doctor said flatly.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom." Jackie continued.

"Yes, there is." the Doctor said in the same flat way.

"Well, anything could happen."

The Doctor was silent for a moment as the gears in his head turned, working out what Jackie was implying, then it clicked for him. "No." he said simply, and walked off. Jackie gave him a dirty look behind his back.

The Doctor entered the living room, where Rose was tidying up some magazines that were lying around. "Don't mind the mess." she said. "D'ya want a coffee?"

"Might as well, thanks." the Doctor shrugged. "Just milk."

Rose turned and began to walk to the kitchen when she suddenly remembered that the Doctor had had company last night. "Where's the other one?" she asked. "The girl, what's-her-name?"

"Gazelle? She's outside." the Doctor replied. "She said she fancied something from that sandwich shop yer've got downstairs."

Rose went into the kitchen and started making coffee "We should go the police." she began. "Seriously, all three of us."

The Doctor wasn't paying attention; he was looking around the living room with interest. "That won't last." he remarked as he eyed a gossip magazine. "He's gay and she's an alien."

"I'm not blaming you," Rose continued, "even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong."

The Doctor picked up a book and flicked through it. "Hmm, sad ending." he remarked.

"They said on the news they'd found a body." Rose said in the kitchen, oblivious to the Doctor's mooching in the other room.

The Doctor picked up Rose's Henriks staff I.D card. "Rose Tyler." he read out, then looked at his reflection in a mirror. "50 years, and I still can't used to these ears." he mumbled, flicking his large ears.

"All the same, he was nice. Nice bloke." Rose rambled in the kitchen.

The Doctor picked up a deck of playing cards from the coffee table and shuffled them. "Luck be a lady." he sang to himself.

"Well anyway if we are going to go to the police, I wanna know what I'm saying." Rose continued.

The Doctor shuffled the cards again and they went flying everywhere. "Maybe not." he shrugged, then he heard a scuttling noise coming from somewhere in the room. "What's that, then? You got a cat?" he asked.

"No." Rose answered, while the Doctor pinpointed the noise to be coming from behind the settee. He leaned in to investigate, only for the plastic dummy arm to come flying up and grab him by his neck. "We did have," Rose continued, oblivious to this, "but now we just get strays coming in off the estate." She finished making the coffees and returned to the living room to find the Doctor sitting on an armchair, apparently being throttled by the arm. "I told Mickey to chuck that out." she huffed, putting the drinks down. "Honestly, give a man a plastic 'and. Anyway, I don't even know ya name, Doctor.. what was it?"

The Doctor didn't answer; he was too busy trying to pull the arm off him. He finally managed to get it off and threw it across the room. It hovered in mid-air for a moment, then suddenly launched itself at Rose, latched onto her face and started to smother her. The Doctor leapt to his feet and tried to pull it off her. Jackie meanwhile was busy drying her hair, and so was oblivious to the commotion in the living room. The Doctor and Rose crashed onto the coffee table, demolishing it and rolled onto the floor. The Doctor pushed her back onto the chair and pulled out his light-up tube, then flashed it at the arm, causing it to let go of Rose. He then continued to jab the arm with the tube until it went limp.

"It's alright, I've stopped it." he said to Rose, tossing the arm to her "There yer go, see? 'Armless."

"D'ya think?!" Rose glowered, giving him a whack on the shoulder with the arm, not impressed with his tasteless joke. The Doctor rubbed his shoulder, then he grabbed the arm and left the flat. Rose threw a hoodie on and went off after him. She caught up with him halfway down the stairs. "Hold on a minute, ya can't just go swanning off!" she complained.

"Yes, I can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off." the Doctor said simply. "See yer!"

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill me!"

"10 out of 10 for observation." the Doctor said sarcastically.

"Ya just can't walk away!" Rose persisted. "That's not fair! You've gotta tell me what's going on."

"No, I don't." the Doctor said simply.

"Alright then, I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone." Rose threatened. "Ya mate said if I did that, I'd put people in danger. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking."

"Is that supposed to sound tough?"

"Sort of."

"Doesn't work." the Doctor said lamely as they reached the bottom of the stairwell.

They walked through the doors onto the estate, where they found Gazelle sitting on a bollard, taking the last few bites out of a bacon sandwich. "Found anything?" she asked the Doctor, who showed her the arm in response. Then she saw Rose. "What's she doing here?"

"She lives here, apparently." the Doctor replied.

"Huh, small world." Gazelle shrugged, binning her rubbish, then she and the Doctor began to walk across the estate.

"Who are you two?" Rose questioned as she followed them.

"We told you." the Doctor replied. "I'm the Doctor, she's Gazelle."

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose probed.

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor." Rose repeated in disbelief. Surely that wasn't his real name. Maybe he was Doctor Smith or Jones, or something like that.

"Hullo!" he gave a cheeky wave.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose scoffed.

"Sort of." the Doctor shrugged.

Rose turned to the brunette. "And you're called Gazelle?"

"Yes, I am." she replied simply.

"No offence, but what kinda name is Gazelle?"

"My name." was all Gazelle had to say in response to that.

"O-kay." Rose said slowly, wandering if theses two were missing a few screws each "Come on, then, tell me." she persisted "I've seen enough. Are ya both police?"

"No, we were just passing through." the Doctor replied "We're both a long way from home."

"But what've I done wrong? How come these plastic things keep coming after me?"

"Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around you?" the Doctor said rudely. "You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."

Gazelle promptly whacked him in the shoulder. "Oi, don't be rude!" she scolded, then turned to Rose. "What he means is that last night, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Autons are after us, but they're focussing on you because you've met us."

"So, what ya saying is, the entire world revolves around you two?" Rose turned the Doctor's jibe against him.

"Sort of, yeah." the Doctor said simply.

"You're full of it!" Rose laughed.

"Sort of, yeah." the Doctor repeated.

"Truer words have never been spoken." Gazelle remarked, giving Rose a wink.

"Oi!" the Doctor said indignantly.

"But, this plastic stuff, these Autons, who else knows about it?" Rose asked.

"No one." the Doctor replied.

"What, you're both on ya own?"

"Well, who else is there?" the Doctor remarked. "I mean, you lot, all all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!"

"And what about you two?" Rose probed. "You a couple or what?"

"No!" both the Doctor and Gazelle said together hastily, causing Rose to raise a brow. She was clever enough to know that when people answered hastily like that, they were probably lying. She studied them both for a moment. There was quite an age gap between them, with the Doctor looking to be about 40-ish, while Gazelle looked to be around 24-ish. Still, it wasn't her place to judge other people.

"Ok, start from the beginning." Rose said, taking the arm from the Doctor. "If ya gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do... how d'ya kill it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm." the Doctor replied. "I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control." Rose pondered.

"Close. It's actually though control." Gazelle told her. "You alright?" she asked when Rose didn't say anything else.

"Yeah." Rose waved her off. "So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story." the Doctor waved her off

"But what's it all for?" Rose wandered. "I mean, shop window dummies... what's that all about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?"

All three shared a laugh at that ridiculous notion. "No, it's not a price war." the Doctor said jovially, then became serious. "They wanna overthrow the Human race. D'yer believe me?"

"No." Rose snorted.

"But ya still listening, though." Gazelle remarked.

Rose stopped at this point. They'd now reached the end of the estate and over the road from them was a blue police box; the same one that had been outside Henriks last night. "Really, though, who are ya both?" Rose quizzed.

The Doctor stopped and walked back to her while Gazelle carried on towards the police box. "D'yer know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" the Doctor said mysteriously. "It's like when yer a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and yer just can't believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it, Gazelle can too." He took Rose's hand. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and we can feel it. We're falling through space, you and us, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go.." He let go of Rose's hand. "That's who we are. Now, forget us, Rose Tyler." He took the arm back off her. "Go home."

He turned and walked off towards the police box, which Gazelle had gone inside during his dramatic speech. Rose watched his departing back, then turned and began to walk back towards Bucknall House. She was halfway back across the estate when she suddenly heard a strange noise. It was a wheezing and groaning sound, almost soulful sounding. She hurried back to find that the Doctor, Gazelle and the box were all gone, apparently disappeared into thin air. Rose was more baffled than ever; living plastic, vanishing police boxes and the strange speech the Doctor made. There was more to those two than met the eye and Rose was determined to get to the bottom of everything.

~8~

Mickey answered the door of his flat to find Rose standing there. "Yahey, there's my woman." he grinned. "Kit off."

"Shut up!" Rose laughed, giving him a kiss.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, only if you wash the mug. And I don't mean rinse, I mean wash. Can I use ya computer?"

"Yeah, any excuse to get in the bedroom." Mickey grinned, and went into the kitchen, while Rose headed to the bedroom. "Don't read my emails!" Mickey called after her.

Rose soon had Mickey's PC fired up and was surfing the internet for information. She typed 'Doctor' into a search engine, but received no relevant results. Typing 'Gazelle' also proved fruitless. Next, she tried 'Doctor Living Plastic'. Once again, nothing useful. Rose tried 'Doctor Blue Box' and this time, she got lucky. The first result was a link to a website called 'Doctor Who'. Rose clicked on the link to find a webpage that showed a blurry photo of the Doctor with a caption below saying 'Have you seen this man? Contact Clive.'

~8~

That afternoon, Mickey drove Rose to a house in Stoke Newington that belonged to Clive Finch, the man ran the website. Mickey wasn't happy about this at all. He was convinced that Clive was an internet serial killer. "You're not coming in!" Rose insisted as they pulled up outside the house. "He's safe, he's got a wife and kids. "

"Yeah, but who told ya that? He did!" Mickey countered. "That's exactly what an internet murder would say."

Rose got out of the car anyway and made her way towards Clive's house. Mickey watched her like a hawk, giving a man putting his bin out the evils. Rose knocked on the front door of Clive's house and a pre-teen boy answered. "Uh, hello, I've come to see Clive." Rose introduced. "We've been emailing."

"Dad! It's one of your nutters!" the boy called down the hall, and scuttled off back to his game console.

A portly man in his early forties came to the door. "Sorry, hullo." he introduced. "You must be Rose. I'm Clive, obviously."

"I'd better tell ya now, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case ya gonna kill me." Rose joked.

"No, good point. No murders." Clive smiled, and gave a cheerful wave to Mickey, who nodded, still distrustful.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice, evidently Clive's wife, called from upstairs.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor." Clive answered. "She's been reading the website." He turned to Rose. "Please come though, I'm in the shed."

Clive's wife came downstairs with a laundry basket. "She?" she remarked in disbelief. "She read the website about the Doctor? She's a she?!" She smiled ironically and shut the front door, leaving Mickey unable to see what was going on inside.

Clive led Rose to the shed in his back garden, which was packed with folders. "A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive." he said, pulling out one of the folders. "I couldn't just sent it to yer. People might intercept it, if yer know what I mean. If yer dig deep enough, keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps popping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just 'The Doctor.' Always the Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son, it appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor over there, isn't it?" He pointed to a computer, which displayed his webpage.

"Yeah." Rose confirmed.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year." Clive said, opening the folder he was holding. "The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original..." he showed Rose photos of the Doctor standing in a crowd in Dallas as an open top car carrying US President John F. Kennedy passed. "November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy."

"Must be his father..." Rose muttered, trying to assimilate this

"Going further back... April 1912." Clive said pulling, out a photo album. "This is a photograph of the Daniels family of Southampton, and friend." he showed Rose a black and white photo of an Edwardian family. The Doctor was standing with them, dressed in a top hat and frock coat. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off to the New World on the Titanic. And for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And..." he showed her a sketch showing the Doctor and Gazelle standing on a beach, "1883. Another Doctor, and his female companion. And look, it's the same lineage. He's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very night that Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings a storm in his wake. And he has two constant companions."

"Right, so one's Gazelle." Rose nodded. "Who's the other?"

"Death." Clive answered ominously.

~8~

Outside the house, Mickey was still waiting in his looked around and suddenly saw a wheelie bin scuttling along the pavement on it's own accord.

~8~

"If the Doctor's back... if yer've seen him, Rose, then one thing's for certain, we're all in danger." Clive continued.

~8~

Mickey look at the bin. It stopped moving, but after a few seconds, it started moving again. He got out of the car and approached it, believing it was probably either a kid playing a joke or a cat or fox that had gotten trapped inside the bin. He placed both hands on the lid and pulled it open. "Come on, then!" he crowed, only to find nothing in the bin except some bin bags.

~8~

If he's singled you out... If the Doctor's making house calls... then God help you." Clive said grimly.

~8~

Mickey shut the bin lid and tried to walk away, but found that his hands were stuck to the lid. When he tried to pull away, the bin just stretched and refused to let him go. Mickey kept trying to get away, but eventually, the bin opened it's lid and pulled him backwards, apparently consuming him.

~8~

"But who are they?" Rose asked, getting unnerved by Clive's doom mongering. "Who do you think they are?"

"I dunno for certain who or what the girl is." Clive replied. "There's not much information on her, only that a woman called Gazelle was apparently held in high regard by Queen Victoria and Sir Winston Churchill. But I think the Doctor's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world."

Rose was silent for a moment, processing this information. It sounded ridiculous, but it also made sense. She remembered the Doctor's speech that morning, about feeling the Earth turning, then there was the light-up tube things that both he and Gazelle used, which were like nothing she'd ever seen before, and there was the living plastic. She thanked Clive for his time and returned to Mickey's car, where she found him sitting in the driver's seat with a cheesy grin on his face. "Ok, still here." she said as she sat down in the passenger seat. "Not a murderer. What we doing tonight? I fancy pizza."

"Pizza!" Mickey said, sounding like an over-excited kid. "P-p-p-pizza!"

"Or a Chinese." Rose pondered.

"Pizza!" Mickey cheered, and drove off, swerving all over the road before he suddenly remembered how to drive again.

~8~

That evening, Rose and Mickey were sat in a West End pizza restaurant, with Rose pondering what to do with her life now that her job had gone up in smoke. "D'ya think I should try the hospital?" she asked Mickey, who was sitting across from her with the same cheesy grin stuck on his face. "Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen. That's it then... dishing out chips... I could do A Levels... I dunno, it's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school 'cos of him and look where he ended up. What d'you think?"

"So, where did ya meet this Doctor?" Mickey spoke up at last.

"I'm sorry, was I talking about me for a second?" Rose huffed.

"Because, I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Is he something to do with that?" Mickey persisted.

"No."

"Come on."

"Sort of."

"What was he doing there?"

"I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft but... I don't think he's safe. I think he's dangerous." Rose said. In the wake of what she'd learnt from Clive, she'd decided it was best to leave well alone. "Maybe the girl too, dunno about her."

But Mickey wasn't taking no for an answer "But you can trust me, sweetheart-babe-sugar-darling-sweetheart." he fired off in quick succession, causing Rose to look at him oddly. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really wanna do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"What ya doing that for?" Rose questioned, getting puzzled by Mickey's strange behaviour.

Just then, a waiter in a leather jacket approached the table. "Your champagne." he said in a thick Lancashire accent.

"We didn't order any champagne." Mickey said without even looking at him, then he grabbed Rose's hand. "Where's the Doctor?" he asked fiercely.

The waiter moved over to the other side of the table and held the bottle out to Rose. "Ma'am, your champagne."

"It's not ours." Rose replied, not looking at him. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much he knows, so where is he?"

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" the waiter persisted.

Mickey lost patience. "Look, we didn't order i..." he trailed off as he looked up and recognised the waiter. "Ah, gotcha!" he crowed triumphantly.

Rose looked round to see that the waiter was the Doctor "Don't mind me!" he grinned, shaking the bottle. "I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!" He popped the cork off and it flew straight at Mickey's forehead, but instead of bouncing off it, it was simply absorbed by his forehead, his skin looking very plasticky while doing so, then he spat the cork out of his mouth. It was then that Rose realised the Mickey sat in front of her was in fact an Auton disguised as Mickey.

"Anyway." the Auton Mickey snarled, standing up. His hands morphed into sharp blades and he swung them down, slicing the table in half. The blades would have hit Rose too had a pair of feminine arms not pulled her out of the way in the nick of time. Rose looked round to see that Gazelle was the person who had saved her. The Doctor grabbed the Auton Mickey in a headlock and began tugging at his head, which came off with a pop. The Doctor lost his footing and fell forward onto a nearby table with the head in his hands. "Don't think that's gonna stop me." the head snarled, causing the couple sat at the table to scream, while the headless Auton swung it's blades around blindly, dangerously close to other patrons, who were all too shocked to move.

Rose leapt into action. She ran over to a fire alarm and slammed her elbow on it. "Everyone out!" she hollered. "Out now!" The restaurant cleared like magic, leaving just Rose, the Doctor, Gazelle and the Auton. The Doctor and Gazelle went into the kitchen and Rose decided to follow them, since they both seemed to know what was going on. "Get out! Get out! Get out!" she urged the bemused kitchen staff as she saw the headless Auton beginning to follow them.

The trio left through the back door and found themselves in the yard. The Doctor braced the door shut with his back, while Gazelle flashed her light-up tube at the lock, apparently sealing it. In the middle of the yard was the blue police box. With the door locked, Gazelle ran inside the police box, while Rose ran over to the gates, only to find them padlocked. "Open the gate!" she hollered to the Doctor. "Use those tube things, c'mon!"

"Sonic screwdrivers." the Doctor corrected, completely unfazed by the pounding coming from the other side of the doors.

"Use 'em!"

"Nah." the Doctor answered nonchalantly. "Tell yer what, let's go in here." And he walked into the blue box with the Auton head tucked beneath his arm.

Rose could see that the Auton was beginning to make dents in the door and knew that it would soon break through. "We can't hide inside a wooden box!" she yelled, running over to the box. "It's gonna get us, Doctor! Gazelle!" Seeing no other way out, she ran inside the box, then stopped in her tracks at what she saw. She promptly ran back outside and circled the box, trying to make sense of what she'd seen inside. Just then, the Auton finally managed to create a hole in the door, so Rose ran back inside the box.

The box's interior was like nothing Rose had ever seen before. It was a vast dome-shaped room that was far bigger than what the outside implied. The room had an organic look to it, with golden walls studded with roundels, coral Y-shaped beams that reached from the metal grille floor to the ceiling, an overhead gantry in one corner of the room and a mushroom-shaped console that stood prominently in the centre, with a transparent column that sprouted out of it and reached up to the ceiling. Inside the column, there was a series of transparent tubes that gave out a cyan light, while the panels on the console also gave out a cyan light, and there was a monitor attached to the console that was displaying strange circular markings, while several post-it notes were plastered onto the monitor with more circular markings. In addition, there was an ambient hum in the air, like the room was alive.

"It's gonna follow us!" Rose hollered as she ran up the ramp leading up from the doors.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried." the Doctor said from where he was fiddling about the monitor. "Now, shut up a minute."

"Oi, manners!" Gazelle reprimanded. She was currently wiring up the Auton head to the console.

The Doctor paid no attention. "Now, an arm's too simple, but the head's perfect." he said to himself. "We can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." He turned to Rose, who was stood at the top of the ramp in shock. "Right. Where d'yer wanna start?" he asked her.

"Um, the inside's bigger than the outside." Rose said feebly.

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yup."

"Are you both aliens?"

"Yes." the Doctor stated.

"Its that alright?" Gazelle asked, coming up to stand beside the Doctor.

"Yeah." Rose said quickly, though she was still in shock from everything.

"She's called a TARDIS, this thing." the Doctor went on. "T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Rose suddenly broke down sobbing, so Gazelle went over to comfort her. "That's ok. Culture shock." the Doctor said nonchalantly. "Happens to the best of us."

Gazelle just gave him a sharp look for his tactlessness. "Did they kill him?" Rose asked her. "Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

"We honestly can't say for sure," Gazelle told her, "but there's a chance that they kept him alive to maintain their copy, so don't give up just yet."
Rose nodded. Despite not talking as much as the Doctor, Gazelle seemed to be the more Humane of the two aliens.

"Who's Mickey?" the Doctor asked obliviously.

"Her boyfriend." Gazelle told him.

"Oh, didn't think of that." the Doctor shrugged.

Rose glared at him. "He's my boyfriend!" she burst out. "You pulled off his head, they copied him and you didn't even think?! And now you're just going to let him melt?!"

"Melt?" both aliens said in unison. They turned to the console just in time to see the Auton head melting into a plasticky goop

"Oh, no, no, no!" the Doctor hollered as he and Gazelle started frantically running around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers. The same wheezing and groaning noise that Rose had heard that morning sounded, the transparent tubes inside the column started moving up and down, and the room began to shake

"What ya doing?" Rose asked the duo, grabbing onto a railing to steady herself.

"Tracing the signal." the Doctor answered, looking at the monitor. "It's fading. No, no, no, no!"

"Oh, come on. Just a little longer." Gazelle muttered, working a few controls.

The shaking and the noise stopped, then the two aliens ran for the doors. "Ya can't go out there, it's not safe!" Rose called after them, but neither of them were listening and rushed outside. Rose stepped out after them to find that they'd moved. They were no longer in the backyard of the restaurant; they were now on the embankment next to the Thames, close to Westminster Bridge.

"We lost the signal! We got so close!" the Doctor moaned, leaning on a wall to sulk.

"We can't be too far off." Gazelle soothed, rubbing his shoulder.

The Doctor seemed to feel better with her ministrations until Rose spoke again. "We've moved. Does it fly?"

"Disappears there, reappears here, yer wouldn't understand." the Doctor waved her off.

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing?" Rose questioned. "It's still on the loose."

"It melted with the head. You gonna witter on all night?" the Doctor said rudely, earning himself a whack on the shoulder from Gazelle. "Ow! Will you stop that?" he moaned, rubbing his shoulder.

"I'll stop when you stop being obnoxiously rude to everyone we meet." the brunette retorted.

"So, where is he?" Rose asked.
The Doctor looked at her blankly, clearly having no idea what she was talking about. "Mickey, the real Mickey. You went and forgot him, again!" she burst out, having lost patience with the Doctor. "You were right, you are aliens!"

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey..." the Doctor began bluntly.

"Yeah, he's not a kid."

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?"

"Alright?!" Rose glared.

"Yes, it is!" the Doctor snapped back.

"Enough, both of you!" Gazelle cut in, fed up with all the bickering. "Doctor, show some compassion for once." The Doctor turned back to sulking against the TARDIS, while Gazelle turned to Rose and said in a much nicer tone, "Rose, I know you're upset and worried about ya boyfriend, but there's a bigger picture to all this and if we don't find out where the signal's coming from, then it won't be just your boyfriend; it'll be the whole planet that's in danger."

Rose decided to start over "If you are aliens, how come you sound like ya from the North?" she asked the Doctor.

"Lots of planets have a North." the Doctor whined, folding his arms indignantly.

"And what's a police public call box?" Rose asked, looking at the TARDIS.

"It's a telephone box from the 1960's." the Doctor replied. "It's a disguise." And he patted the box fondly.

Rose just shook her head at that. Men and their machines! "Ok. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?"

"Nothing. It loves yer. You've got such a good planet." the Doctor remarked. "Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs."

"It lost it's food stocks in a war." Gazelle chimed in. "All it's protein planets became contaminated, so Earth..."

"Dinner." the Doctor finished, making an eating gesture with his hands.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor grinned and reached into his pocket, producing a phial filled with a blue liquid. "Anti-plastic."

"Anti-plastic..." Rose repeated.

"Anti-plastic." the Doctor confirmed, putting the phial away again. "But first we've gotta find it. How can yer hide something that big in a city this small?" he wandered.

"Hold on... hide what?" Rose questioned.

"The transmitter." Gazelle replied. "Ya see, the Consciousness can control every single bit of plastic on Earth, but it needs a transmitter to boost the signal in order to do so."

"What's it look like?" Rose asked, wanting to be helpful.

"Like a transmitter." the Doctor replied, standing with his back to the river. "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge circular metal structure... like a dish... like a wheel. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible."
Rose looked over his shoulder and saw something that fit the description. She nodded to it and the Doctor turned around for a moment, then turned back, completely nonplussed. "What?" he questioned, wandering what she was looking at.

Rose nodded again and the Doctor looked again, as did Gazelle this time, who realised what Rose was referring to. "Oh, you are very good, Rose Tyler." she chuckled, but the Doctor still didn't get it.

"What is it? What?" he questioned. "What is it? What?" he questioned. Rose gestured again and Gazelle pointed. The Doctor looked, and there, standing proudly on the opposite side of the river, was the London Eye; a huge, 450 foot Ferris wheel. "Oh..." the Doctor said as it clicked for him. "Fantastic!" he grinned inanely, and took off running with Gazelle and Rose hot on his heels.

As they raced over Westminster Bridge, Rose noticed that the Doctor and Gazelle were holding hands. She raised a brow at that, wandering if there was something between them despite their claims to the contrary. They came to a stop at the foot of the Eye.

"Think of it." the Doctor mused. "Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come to life. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables..."

"The breast implants." Rose joked.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Rose." Gazelle told her pointedly. "Countless lives are at stake."

The Doctor wasn't amused either. "Still, we've found the transmitter."

"The Consciousness must have it's base underneath." Gazelle agreed.

Rose ran off and found the entrance to a manhole at the foot of a wall. "What about down here?" she called, and the two aliens came over to look too.

"Looks good to me." the Doctor said, and the trio ran down the stairs to the manhole. The Doctor removed the cover and red light and smoke poured out from the depths. The Doctor found a ladder and began to climb down it.

"Right, thanks for ya help, Rose." Gazelle said as she made to follow him. "We can take it from here. You'd better find somewhere safe."

"No chance." Rose replied. "If Mickey's down there, then I'm going with ya."

"Stay close, then." Gazelle conceded. "And if we tell ya to get out, then you do it, no arguments." Rose nodded, and they both climbed down the ladder.

At the bottom of the ladder was a door. The Doctor opened it and they stepped through to find themselves in a vast chamber with walkways all over the walls. The Doctor pointed to a huge, wobbling orange mass in the middle of the chamber. "The Nestene Consciousness, that's it, inside the vat." he explained. "A living, plastic creature."

"It can adopt whatever form it wants for the planet it decides to take over." Gazelle added. "It's tried invading Earth a couple of times before."

"Took the form of a giant octopus back then." the Doctor remarked, clearly reliving a memory.

"Well then, tip in ya anti-plastic and let's go." Rose said.

"We're not here to kill it." the Doctor scolded. "I've got to give it a chance." They went down a few steps and the Doctor leaned over the railing to address the Consciousness. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

The Consciousness wobbled a bit and growled out a response.

"Thank you." the Doctor said. "If we might have permission to approach."

Just then, something, or rather someone on the walkway below them caught Rose's eye. "Oh my God, Mickey!" she cried, rushing downstairs. There was Mickey Smith; the real Mickey Smith; grubby and terrified beyond his wits, but very much alive. "It's ok, it's alright." Rose soothed as she raced over to him and squatted down next to him.

"The thing down there, the liquid, Rose, it can talk!" Mickey whimpered.

"You're stinking!" Rose wrinkled her nose, then turned to Gazelle, who had joined them. "You were right, they kept him alive."

"Yeah, told ya there was a good chance." Gazelle replied, squatting down too. "Are you alright?" she asked Mickey. "It didn't harm you, did it?" Mickey shook his head. "What happened? How did they nab you?"

"It was a bin." Mickey blustered "It pulled me in, next thing I know, I'm in here with that thing!" he pointed at the Consciousness.

"Must've been a Nestene-controlled bin." Gazelle mused. "Still, at least you're safe. Everything's gonna be alright. We're gonna fix this." she reassured the terrified young man.

"Excuse me." the Doctor cut in irritably. "Can we get back on topic?"

"Yeah, sorry." Gazelle mumbled, going to stand by the Doctor, who turned his attention back to the Consciousness.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" He smirked at his little pun, while Gazelle rolled her eyes at him.

The Consciousness globbered in what appeared to be a negative manner.

"Oh, don't give me that!" the Doctor retorted. "It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights!"

The Consciousness roared an angry response.

"I am talking!" the Doctor snapped, clearly not taking any nonsense. "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go."

Just then, Rose noticed three Autons creeping up on them from behind. "Look out!" she warned, but it was too late. One Auton grabbed the Doctor in a vice-like grip, while another did the same to Gazelle and the third reached into the Doctor's pocket and pulled out the phial of anti-plastic. The Consciousness was furious.

"That was just insurance!" the Doctor tried to pacify it. "I wasn't gonna use it!"

The Consciousness wasn't convinced and roared an angry response.

"We were not attacking you." the Doctor tried. "We're here to help. We're not yer enemies, I swear. We're not. What d'yer mean?" A door above them opened to reveal the TARDIS. "Oh, oh no, honestly, no! Yes, that's our ship!"

The Consciousness roared something .

"That's not true!" the Doctor protested. "I should know. I was there! We both fought in the war. It wasn't our fault!"

The Consciousness roared something else.

"No, no, we're not like them!" Gazelle protested. "They're all gone gone now!"

The Consciousness just roared even louder. "What's it doing?" Rose asked.

"It's the TARDIS." the Doctor answered, sounded panicked. "The Nestene has identified her superior technology. It's terrified! It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion!"

"Get out, Rose!" Gazelle hollered. "Both of you, get outta here now!"

But Rose didn't go. She pulled out her mobile and dialled her mother's number. "Mum?"

"Oh, there ya are." Jackie's voice said on the other end. "I was just gonna phone. You CAN get compensation, I said so. I've got this document thing off the police. Don't thank me!"

"Where are ya, mum?"

"I'm in town."

"Go home!" Rose urged. "Just go home, right now!"

"Darling, you're breaking up." Jackie lied "Look, I'm just gonna do a bit of late night shopping. See ya later, ta-ra!" and she hung up

"Mum? Mum!" Rose tried, but it was no use.

Suddenly, four bright blue bolts of energy shot out of the Consciousness and reached into the ceiling. "It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!" the Doctor realised, and indeed, the bolts all extended up onto the Eye, gathering into a large signal which transmitted all over London.

"It's the end of the world..." Rose breathed.

~8~

Elsewhere in London, Clive Finch and his family were walking through the Queen's Arcade shopping centre "There's no point creating a spreadsheet if yer gonna spend summer money in winter months." Clive rambled.

His wife gasped suddenly when a dummy in the window of the shop they're just passed tapped the glass "Oh my God, I thought they were dummies." she remarked, thinking they were people in costumes. They looked around and saw all the other dummies moving too.

Suddenly, the dummies punched through the glass and stepped out of the shops, causing everyone to jump back in surprise. In another part of the shopping centre, Jackie was coming down the escalator and saw the dummies coming to life.

"It's true." Clive breathed, remembering reading stories of shop window dummies coming to life and going on a killing spree. "Everything I read, all the stories, it's all true!"
An Auton walked in front of him and raised it's arm. Clive realised what it was about to do and protectively stepped in front of his wife and son as the Auton's hand opened to reveal a gun and it shot him at point blank range. His wife and son screamed and ran for it.

~8~

In the Nestene lair, the Doctor and Gazelle were desperately trying in vain to get free of their captors. "Both of you, get outta here!" Gazelle yelled up to Rose and Mickey. "Save yourselves, go!"

The two Humans took the hint and began to run for it, only to see that the staircase had been severed by one of the Consciousness'' energy bolts, so they both ran to the TARDIS, but found that the door was locked. "I haven't got the key!" Rose groaned

"We're gonna die!" Mickey whimpered.

~8~

The Queen's Arcade was in chaos. Jackie stood at the bottom of the escalator in confusion, then she saw the Autons walking around shooting people. She screamed and ran for it. Outside, she found that there was just as much chaos outside as there was inside. An army of Autons marched out of shops, indiscriminately gunning down anyone they came across. Jackie ran down the road and ducked behind a car in front of a bridal shop. Suddenly, three Autons in wedding dresses demolished the window, causing Jackie to scream as they set their sights on her.

~8~

Rose watched the Doctor and Gazelle struggle against their captors. The Auton holding the Doctor was now trying to push him off the edge, while the one holding Gazelle kept her back, preventing her from intervening. The third Auton was holding the phial of anti-plastic in front of them, almost mockingly. Rose thought of her mother and everyone else in the streets above, and of the mayhem the Autons were no doubt causing. Then, she made a decision; she was going to take a stand.

"Just leave 'em!" Mickey called as she ran off. "There's nothing you can do!"

~8~

The three bridal Autons advanced on Jackie, holding their arms out ready to shoot her.

~8~

Rose ignored Mickey and picked up an axe. "Got no A-levels." she muttered, "no job, no future..." she hacked at a chain on the wall and released it, "but I tell ya what I have got; Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team." The chain came free and she grabbed it. "I got the bronze." And with that, she took a running jump and swung across the chasm over the Consciousness.

This seemed to spur the Doctor into action and with a great effort, he managed to get free of the Auton holding him and pushed it over the edge into the Consciousness, where it melted into nothing, then he rushed over to help Gazelle. Rose aimed for the Auton holding the anti-plastic and with a well-aimed kick, she sent both it and the phial flying over the edge. They both landed in the Consciousness and the phial shattered on impact, spilling it's contents all over the creature, which began to writhe and scream. The Auton holding Gazelle promptly seized up and let her go, allowing both her and the Doctor to catch Rose as she swung back. "Nice swinging, Rose." Gazelle praised.

"Now we're in trouble." the Doctor remarked, and they all ran upstairs to join Mickey by the TARDIS just as the Consciousness began to explode, cutting off the signal controlling the Autons.

~8~

The Autons in the high street suddenly stopped their killing spree and began to seize up as they lost their control signal. Jackie cautiously uncovered her eyes.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Mickey all hurried into the TARDIS once the Doctor had unlocked the box. The two aliens worked the controls and the TARDIS dematerialised just before the Nestene lair went up in flames.

~8~

The Autons on the high street all fell apart, back to lifeless plastic. Jackie gingerly came out of her hiding place and looked at the destruction all around her.

~8~

The TARDIS materialised in an alleyway near the Powell Estate. Mickey ran backwards out of the box and cowered against a wall, terrified beyond his wits. Between being captured by a bin, being held prisoner by a vat of living plastic and now a bigger on the inside box, it was all too much for him. Rose stepped out in a much calmer and more dignified manner. She pulled out her mobile and called her mother.

"Rose! Rose!" Jackie's voice gasped. "Don't go out the house, it's not safe!" Rose just laughed in relief at hearing her mother's voice. "There were all of these things!" Jackie blustered. "And they were shooting! And they..."

Rose hung up with a relieved laugh, feeling rather pleased with herself. She'd single-handedly saved the world; not bad for a shop girl with no fancy qualifications. "Fat lot of good you were." she remarked to Mickey.

The Doctor stood in the doorway of the TARDIS with his arms crossed and a look of macho smugness on his face. "Nestene Consciousness?" He clicked his fingers. "Easy."

"You were useless in there." Rose retorted. "You and ya mate would both be dead if it wasn't for me."

"Yes, we would." the Doctor admitted. "Thank you. Right then, we'll be off. Unless, er, I dunno... you could come with us. This box isn't just a London hopper, yer know, she goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge."

"Don't!" Mickey pleaded, wrapping his arms around Rose's legs. "They're aliens. They're things!"

"He is not invited." the Doctor said sternly, then in a more friendly tone, he said to Rose, "What d'yer think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere."

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked, seriously considering it.

"Yeah." the Doctor replied cheerfully.

Mickey clung to Rose even tighter, which seemed to remind her of her family responsibilities "Yeah, I can't." she sighed. "I've, um.. gotta find my mum and, um... someone's gotta look after this stupid lump..." she patted her boyfriend on the back, "So..."

"Ok." the Doctor said, disappointed. "See yer around." he went back inside the TARDIS and the box dematerialised.

"C'mon, let's go." Rose said sadly, helping a shaky Mickey to his feet. They were just about to walk away when they heard the sound of the TARDIS again and they turned to see the box rematerialise again.

The door opened and Gazelle poked her head out. "Oh, by the way, the Doctor forgot to mention, the TARDIS is a time machine as well." she said, then poked her head back in, leaving the door ajar.

Rose processed this information. Suddenly it all clicked for her: the photos Clive had shown her and why the Doctor looked the same in them. The Doctor and Gazelle were time travellers, and this meant that if Rose went with them, they could literally go anywhere and get her home mere seconds after she'd left. "Thanks." she said to Mickey.

"For what?" he asked.

"Exactly." Rose replied, and kissed him on the cheek, then she ran towards the TARDIS with a broad smile on her face, ready to embark on the trip of a lifetime.

Chapter Text

Rose ran eagerly into the TARDIS to join the Doctor and Gazelle. "Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell us, where d'yer wanna go?" the Doctor asked. "Backwards or forwards in time. What's it gonna be?"

"Forwards." Rose replied immediately.

"How far d'ya wanna go?" Gazelle asked, pressing a few buttons on the console.

"100 years." Rose replied, picking a random number.

With great enthusiasm, the Doctor pulled a lever and turned a knob, setting the TARDIS into motion. The box wheezed into life for a few seconds before smoothly coming to a stop. "There yer go." the Doctor said smoothly. "Step outside those doors, it's the 22nd century."

"You're kidding." Rose stared in disbelief.

"That's a bit boring though, d'yer wanna go further?" the Doctor offered.

"Fine by me." Ros shrugged.

"Right, further it is." Gazelle said, and she and the Doctor started the TARDIS up again.

Rose watched the two aliens as they piloted the TARDIS. They were like the footplate crew of a steam locomotive; working together in perfect synchronicity. After a few seconds, the box settled down with a bit of a jolt. "Ten thousand years in the future." the Doctor said smugly. "Step outside, it's the year 12005; the New Roman Empire."

"You think you're so impressive." Rose teased.

"I am so impressive!" the Doctor pouted.

"You wish!"

"Right then, you asked for it." the Doctor retorted. "I know exactly where to go." He revved up the engines and pumped a lever vigorously. "Hold on!" And the TARDIS hurtled into life again, with the Doctor piloting by himself this time. Gazelle just stood back to watch, amused that the Doctor's ego had been pricked.

With a pinging noise, the TARDIS stopped. "Where are we?" Rose asked.
The Doctor didn't answer; he just gestured towards the door with a smug look on his face.
"What's out there?" Rose asked excitedly.
The Doctor gestured again, so Rose curiously stepped outside the doors. The Doctor watched her go, feeling very pleased with himself.

Gazelle looked at the monitor and her smile immediately disappeared when she saw where the Doctor had taken them to. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea, Theta." she told him. "I wouldn't pick this for a first date if I were you."

"A; it's note a date, B; she asked for it, and C; I know what I'm doing." the Doctor retorted, and went outside after Rose.

"I hope so, for your sake." Gazelle muttered as she reluctantly followed.

The TARDIS had landed in a spacious room with immaculate wooden décor and steps leading down to a large window covered by steel shutters. Rose was looking around in wonder when the two aliens joined her. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on a control panel on the wall, opening the shutters on the window. They went down the steps to look at the view outside. There was Planet Earth in all it's glory. Rose found herself at a loss for words. The Doctor smirked at the young woman's reaction. "You lot. You spend all yer time thinking about dying." he remarked. Like yer gonna killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... hold on." He looked at his watch. As he did so, the sun flared brightly, the window automatically tinting to protect the trio's eyes from the blinding flash. "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." the Doctor finished.
Rose felt the colour drain from her face, her wonder souring.
The Doctor didn't notice this. "C'mon, the party's this way." he said, and strode over to the doors, which opened and he walked off into a hallway.

Gazelle gave Rose's arm a comforting squeeze. "I'm sorry, Rose." she said. "I did tell this was a bad idea, but he wouldn't listen. I can take ya somewhere else if you like."

"No, no, I'll be alright." Rose waved her off.

"Alright. If you're sure." Gazelle said, and both women went after the Doctor.

As they caught up with him, they heard a computer voice over a PA system: "Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester suite."

"Sounds right up your street, Northern Boy." Gazelle remarked to the Doctor, bumping his shoulder. Despite her misgivings over the Doctor's decision to bring Rose here, she was going to try and do her best to cheer the Human up.

"So, when it says 'guests' does that mean people?" Rose asked them.

"Depends on what yer mean by people." the Doctor replied.

"I mean people. What do you mean?"

"Aliens." the Doctor said simply.

"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?" Rose questioned, trying to comprehend everything.

They reached another door and the Doctor flashed his sonic screwdriver on the control panel beside it. "It's not really a spaceship. More like an observation deck." he told Rose. "The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

"What for?" Rose asked as the doors opened.

"Fun." Gazelle scowled, disgusted that people would find the death of a planet fun.

The trio walked through the doors and found themselves in a large observation gallery. "Mind you, when I say 'the great and the good', what I mean is, the rich." the Doctor said lightly, still oblivious to Rose's discomfort and Gazelle's annoyance with him.

They walked over to the end of the gallery, where they had a panoramic view of Earth and the Sun beyond. "But, hold on, they did this once on Newsround Extra, the sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years." Rose said.

"Millions." the Doctor corrected. "But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" He pointed at tiny glints of light orbiting the Earth. "Gravity satellites, holding back the Sun."

Rose peered out of the window at Earth. "The planet looks the same as ever." she observed. "I thought the continents shifted and things."

"They did." the Doctor confirmed. "And the Trust shifted 'em back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over!"

"How long's it got?" Rose asked.

Gazelle checked her watch. "About half-an-hour." she replied.

"Then the planet gets roasted." the Doctor added cheerfully, earning himself a glare from the brunette.

"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that whacha do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?" Rose asked hopefully.

"We're not saving it. Time's up." the Doctor answered bluntly.

Gazelle was more sympathetic. "Everything has it's time eventually, Rose, even planets. This is Earth's time. There's nothing we can except let nature take it's course."

"But what about the people?" Rose protested.

"It's empty!" the Doctor replied. "They're all gone, all left."

Rose felt a bit better at this news. At least no one would die when Earth did, but she now wandered what had happened to Humanity. "Just me, then." she sighed. She was appalled at the Doctor's blasé and uncaring attitude towards the destruction of her home planet, but at least Gazelle seemed sympathetic. She was evidently the more compassionate one of the duo.

"Who the hell are you?" a pompous-sounding voice said from behind them, and they turned to see a blue-skinned man in a brown robe standing there with a clipboard in his hand. This was the Steward; the man responsible for running Platform One.

"Oh! That's nice, thanks." the Doctor huffed.

"But how did you get in?" the Steward blustered. "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on the way any second now!"

"That's us, we're guests, look." the Doctor said, flashing what looked like a black leather bus pass at the Steward. "Look, there. Yer see? 'The Doctor and Gazelle plus one'. I'm the Doctor, she's Gazelle..." he gestured to the brunette, "and this is Rose Tyler." He gestured to the Human. "She's our plus one. That alright?"

"Well... obviously." the Steward said pompously. "Apologies, etc. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." And he walked off towards a podium in the corner of the room.

The Doctor showed Rose the bus pass-like object he'd shown the Steward. Inside was a blank piece of paper. "The paper's slightly psychic." he explained. "Shows 'em whatever I want 'em to see. Saves a lot of time." he slipped the paper back into his pocket.

"He's blue." was all Rose could say, referring to the Steward.

"I'm afraid you haven't seen anything yet, Rose." Gazelle told her. "You might wanna brace yourself for a shock."

The Steward had taken up position behind the podium. "We have in attendance, the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose Tyler." he announced through a microphone. "Thank you. All staff to their positions." He clapped his hands and several small blue-skinned people in overalls started scurrying around. "Hurry now! Thank you, quick as you can." the Steward fussed. "Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honoured guests, representing the Forests of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa."

The doors opened and three humanoid aliens with bark-like skin walked in. Two were male and dressed in plain black outfits, while the third was female and dressed more elaborately in a red, orange and gold gown. She had a kind face and a graceful air about her.

"There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace." the Steward announced. "If you can keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balhoon."

A squat, grumpy-looking blue-skinned alien entered, sitting in a hovering chair that reminded Rose of the one Commander Shore from Stingray sat in. The Doctor smiled cheerily, while Rose could only look on in bewilderment.

"And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." the Steward introduced as a group of people in black hooded robes and wearing metal gauntlets entered.
Over the next few minutes, the Steward continued to give introductions as more weird and wonderful aliens entered, with Rose getting increasingly overwhelmed.

Presently, the female Tree, Jabe, approached the three time travellers with a small potted plant in her hand. "The Gift of peace." she said, handing the pot to the Doctor. "I bring you a cutting of my grandfather."

"Thank you." the Doctor nodded, passing the plant to Chelsea. "Yes, gifts, erm..." He patted his pockets, trying to think of something to give as a gift. Finding nothing, he decided to improvise. "I give you in return, air from my lungs." And he blew gently in Jabe's face, who seemed to like it

"How... intimate." she remarked.

"There's plenty more where that came from." the Doctor replied.

"I bet there is." Jabe smirked, then moved off to give cuttings to other guests.

Rose noticed that Gazelle looked somewhat uncomfortable at the apparent flirting between the Doctor and Jabe, but before she could ask her about it, the Steward made another announcement. "Sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." he introduced as a huge, ageing head in a jar was wheeled into the room. The head looked at the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose and nodded at them, evidently knowing them and expecting to see them here.

Just then, the Moxx of Balhoon approached the time travellers. "My felicitations on this historical happenstance." he said. "I give you the gift of bodily salivas." And he promptly spat accurately into Rose's left eye.

"Thank you, very much." the Doctor laughed, and the Moxx rolled away.

Gazelle pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and helped Rose to wipe the spit out of her eye. "He meant no disrespect to you." she explained. "Spitting is a custom on Balhoon. Just remember to wear a face shield if we ever take you there."

"Ah, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." the Doctor said as the aforementioned aliens approached them next. "I bring you air from my lungs." And he breathed heavily on them all.

"A gift of peace in good faith." the leader said in a rather creepy robotic voice, and handed the Doctor a small silver ball, which he handed off to Rose.

"And last but not least, our very special guest." the Steward announced. "Ladies and gentlemen, and Trees and Multi-form. Consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human... the Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

The Doctor and Gazelle looked at Rose to see her reaction as the doors opened and what looked like a trampoline of Human skin was wheeled into the room. It had eyes and a mouth, and was flanked by two men in hazmat suits. Rose's face was an absolute picture as she took in the bizarre sight.

"Oh, now, don't stare." Casandra said to everyone. "I know, I know, it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin taken away and look at the difference! Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over 200. Moisturise me, moisturise me!" she said to her attendants, who sprayed her with the contents of the cannisters they were holding.

"Talk about being addicted to plastic surgery." Gazelle whispered to Rose, trying to lift the Human's spirits, but Rose was too much in shock to respond. She crept closer for a better look, seeing that Cassandra was literally 2-dimensional.

"Truly, I am the last Human." Cassandra rambled. "My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Artic desert. They were born on Earth and were the last to be buried in it's soil. I have come to honour them and..." she sniffled, "aay goodbye. Oh, no tears." One of her attendants wiped her eyes. "No tears, I'm sorry. But behold! I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg."
A member of staff came in with the item in question and put it on a pedestal to display it.
"Legend says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and breathed fire from it's nostrils. Or was that my third husband?" Cassandra joked, and everyone except Rose laughed. "Who knows? Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity." Two members of staff wheeled in a large 1950's jukebox. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from Humanity's greatest composers. Play on!"

One of the staff pressed a button on the jukebox and a record fell into place. Tainted Love by Soft Cell began to play. "Well, at least she's got the bit about great composers right." Gazelle remarked to the Doctor, who was bopping appreciatively to the song.

"Refreshments will now be served." the Steward announced. "Earth death in 30 minutes."

The guests began to mingle and socialise. It was finally all too much for Rose; she felt lonely, uncomfortable and out of place, so she promptly ran from the room; something which the Doctor and Gazelle noticed. "I told you this was a bad idea." Gazelle told the Doctor crossly. "I knew this would happen. It's all too much too soon for her."

She and the Doctor both made to follow Rose, but were stopped by Jabe. "Doctor? Gazelle?" she called, and took a photo of them from the device she was holding when they paused. "Thank you."
The two time travellers moved on, while Jabe went over to a quiet corner to study her device, which was a handheld computer. "Identify species." she ordered. "Please identify species." The computer made a small chirping noise. "Now, stop it." she scolded it. "Identify their race. Where're they from?" Her eyes widened when she got her answer. "It's impossible." she breathed.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose stood in a corridor looking out of a window at the raging sun. She suddenly got the sense that she was no longer alone and turned to see another blue-skinned alien standing there. This one was female and was wearing overalls, clearly a member of staff. "Sorry, am I allowed to be in here?" Rose asked quickly.

The employee looked around uneasily. "You have to give us permission to talk." she told Rose.

"Uh... you... have permission."

"Thank you." the employee nodded. "And no, you're not in the way. Guests are allowed anywhere."

"Ok." Rose nodded, and watched as the employee went over to a wall panel and typed in a code. "What's ya name?" Rose asked her.

"Raffalo."

"Raffalo?"

"Yes, miss. I won't be long, I've just gotta carry out some maintenance." Raffalo said, and knelt before an air vent. "There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Boe's suite. There must be something blocking the system, he's not getting any hot water."

"So, you're a plumber?" Rose questioned.

"That's right, miss."

"They still have plumbers?"

"Hope so! Else I'm out of a job." Raffalo joked.

"Where're ya from?" Rose asked her.

"Crespallion." Raffalo answered.

"That's a planet, is it?"

"No, Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex 56." Raffalo explained. "And where're you from, miss? If you don't mind me asking."

"No! Not at all." Rose replied. "Erm... I dunno, a long way away... I just sort of, hitched a lift with this man and woman." She suddenly seemed to realise the risk she'd taken herself. "I didn't even think about it... I don't even know who they are... they're complete strangers." she breathed worriedly, then snapped out of it. "Anyway, don't let me keep ya. Good luck with it!" And she began to walk away.

"Thank you, Miss." Raffalo called after her. "And thank you for your permission. Not many people are that considerate."

"Ok. See ya later!" Rose smiled weakly, and went on her way.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle were making their way through the corridors, trying to find Rose when they heard the Steward's voice came over the PA, "Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 please report to the Steward's office immediately. Guests are reminded that use of ALL teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty 5.4/cup/16. Thank you."

"I'll deal with that." the Doctor told Gazelle. "You find Rose."

"Right. See ya later." Gazelle acknowledged, and they went their separate ways.

~8~

Rose wandered aimlessly through the station until she found herself in a viewing gallery similar to the one the TARDIS had landed in. She sat down on the steps and began tossing the silver ball in the air and catching it. "Earth death in 25 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 25 minutes."

"Oh, thanks!" Rose huffed, putting the ball down and picking up the cutting of Jabe's grandfather. "Hullo, my name's Rose. That's a sort of plant. We might be related..." she said to the plant, then realised what she was doing. "I'm talking to a twig." she muttered, and turned to look out the window, not noticing the silver ball suddenly open up and a small robotic spider scuttle out of it.

~8~

In a corridor, the TARDIS was being manhandled by some of the staff. "Oi, now, careful with her!" the Doctor told them. "Park her properly, no scratches."
One of the staff walked up to him and handed him a card then walked away again. The Doctor looked at the card to see that it said 'Have a nice day.' The Doctor shrugged and walked away, not noticing several metal spiders scurrying up the wall behind him.

~8~

Rose was still sat in the viewing gallery, completely oblivious to the metal spider behind her, which was about to scan her hand when Gazelle's voice floated through the door, "Rose? Are ya in there?" The spider scurried off into an air vent just before the door opened and Gazelle entered the room. She noticed that the ball was open, but decided that Rose's welfare was more important. "Are you alright?" she asked as she sat beside the Human.

"Yeah, I just needed a minute." Rose replied.

"I'm not surprised." Gazelle said. "Culture shock, only to be expected. I told the Doctor this was a bad idea, but he didn't listen 'cos he was too busy showing off."

"I was not showing off!" a familiar Northern accented-voice said indignantly behind them, and the women looked round to see the Doctor enter the room.

"Sorted the TARDIS out?" Gazelle asked him.

"Yeah. They moved her to the hangar bay." the Doctor replied, and took a seat on the other side of the stairs. "What d'yer think, then?" he asked Rose.

"Great! Yeah... fine." Rose shrugged absently. "Once ya get past the slightly psychic paper..."

"That's not just it, though, is there?" Gazelle said knowingly.

"They're just, so alien." Rose blurted out. "The aliens are so... alien. You look at 'em... and they're alien."

"Good thing we didn't take yer to the Deep South." the Doctor quipped.

"Where're you two from?" Rose asked. Her chat with Raffalo had made her realise she really should know more about the two people she'd ran off with.

"All over the place." the Doctor replied vaguely.

"Are you two the same... type of aliens?" Rose asked.

"Yes, we're the same species." Gazelle confirmed. "As the Doctor told you before, we're a long way from home and just passing through."

Rose then realised something. "They all speak English."

"No, yer just hear English." the Doctor told her. "It's a gift of the TARDIS. Telepathic field, gets inside yer brain, translates."

"It's inside my brain?!" Rose spluttered.

"Well, in a good way." the Doctor tried to reason, having realised that he'd phrased it wrong, but the damage had been done.

"Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask?!" Rose burst out.

"I didn't think about it like that." the Doctor muttered.

"No! You were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South!" Rose said angrily. "Who are you then, Doctor? What're you called? What sort of alien are you two?"

"I'm just The Doctor, and she's just Gazelle." the Doctor replied, sitting up and looking away from Rose, not wanting to talk about it.

"From what planet?" Rose continued to prod.

"Well, it's not as if you'd know where it is!"

"Where're ya from?"

"What does it matter?"

"Tell me who you are!"

"This is who I am!" the Doctor snapped, suddenly becoming angry. "Right here, right now, alright? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!"

"Yeah, and I'm here too 'cos you brought me here," Rose snapped back, "so tell me!"

Instead of replying, the Doctor stood up and walked away from Rose.

"You two finished?" Gazelle spoke up, having wisely stayed out of the argument. "Rose, we don't wanna talk about it, so please, just drop it, ok?" She stood up and went over to the Doctor.

"Earth death in 20 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 20 minutes."

After a few moments, Rose stood up and followed the two aliens down the stairs. "Alright." she spoke up. "As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." She took her mobile phone out of her pocket. "Can't exactly call for a taxi... there's no signal. We're outta range. Just a bit!

The Doctor, having calmed down, turned to her. "Tell yer what..." he took the phone from her, "with a little bit of jiggery pokery..." he took the back off the phone and removed the battery.

"Is that a technical term, jiggery pokery?" Rose asked jokingly.

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery, what about you?"

"Nah, failed hullabaloo." Rose joked.

The Doctor fitted a new battery into the phone, replaced the back cover and handed it back to Rose. "There yer go."

Rose looked at the screen to see Universal Roaming enabled' displayed on it. Curious, she dialled her home phone number and held the phone to her ear, her eyes widening when she heard a ringing on the other end which was then answered. "Hello?" the voice of her mother said.

"Mum?" Rose breathed, amazed at having got through.

"Oh, what is it? What's wrong?" Jackie asked. "What have I done now? Oh, this red top's falling to bits! You should get your money back. Go on! There must be something, you never phone in the middle of the day!" Rose could only laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Rose said, recovering. "You alright, though?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday. All day. You got a hangover? Oh, I tell ya what, put a quid in that lottery syndicate, I'll pay ya back later."

"Yeah, um, I was just calling 'cos I might be late home." Rose said.

"Is there something wrong?" Jackie questioned.

"No! I'm fine! Top of the world!" Rose reassured her. Jackie seemed to accept that, and hung up.

"Think that's amazing, you wanna see the bill." the Doctor remarked as Rose lowered the phone, stunned.

"He's pulling ya leg, Rose." Gazelle rolled her eyes. "Universal Roaming's free."

"That was 5 billion years ago." Rose murmured. "So... she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead."

"Bundle of laughs, you are." the Doctor said flatly, but before Rose could answer, or Gazelle could reprimand him for his insensitive remark, the whole station suddenly shuddered.
"That's not supposed to happen." the Doctor said rather obviously.

Just then, the Steward made an announcement over the PA, "Honoured guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you."

But neither the Doctor nor Gazelle were convinced. "Come on." the Doctor said, and led the way out of the room.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose arrived back in the observation galley to find everyone chatting obliviously, with the Moxx of Balhoon talking to the Face of Boe about something called the 'Bad Wolf scenario'. The only person who seemed remotely worried was Jabe.

"That wasn't a gravity pocket." the Doctor announced as he checked a computer panel. "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that. What d'yer think, Jabe?" he asked the Tree as she joined them. "Listen to the engines, they've pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?"

"It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me." Jabe shrugged.

"Where's the engine room?" the Doctor asked her.

"I don't know," she replied, "but the maintenance shaft is just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your wife." She gestured to Gazelle.

"She's not my wife." the Doctor said hastily at the same as Gazelle said "No, no, no, we're not married, no!"

"Partner?" Jabe tried.

"Let.. let's just leave it at that." Gazelle said, not wanting to go into detail about relationships right now.

Rose raised a brow in amusement at this exchange. "Tell ya what," she spoke up, "you three go and pollinate, I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson.

"Be careful." Gazelle warned her. Something didn't quite sit right with Cassandra. The living trampoline had a somewhat oily manner that gave Gazelle a bad feeling. Rose nodded an acknowledgment and headed off in Cassandra's direction.

"We're all yours." the Doctor proffered one arm to Jabe and the other to Gazelle.

"And I want you both home by midnight!" Rose called to them as they set off.

"Yes, mum." Gazelle retorted sarcastically.

"Earth death in 15 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 15 minutes."

~8~

The Doctor and Jabe were soon walking through a maintenance corridor. "Who's in charge of Platform One?" the Doctor asked. "Is there a captain or what?"

"There's just the Steward and the staff." Jabe replied. "All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."

"Yer mean the computer? But who controls that?"

"The Corporation. They move Platform One from artistic event to the next." Jabe explained.

"So there's no one from this 'Corporation' on board?" Gazelle questioned.

"They're not needed." Jabe replied. "This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha class. Nothing can go wrong."

"Famous last words." Gazelle muttered.

"Unsinkable?" the Doctor asked Jabe.

"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate." she replied.

"You're telling me. We were on another ship once. They said that was unsinkable... I ended up clinging to the side of an iceberg. Wasn't half cold." the Doctor muttered.

"Huh! You didn't have to wade chest deep in freezing water, unlocking doors and gates to rescue people trapped behind them. I did!" Gazelle retorted.

"Fair point." the Doctor conceded, then got back on topic. "So what yer saying is, if we get in trouble there's no one to help us?"

"I'm afraid not." Jabe said.

"Fantastic." the Doctor grinned, and went on his way

"I don't understand." a puzzled Jabe said. "In what way is that fantastic?"

"It isn't." Gazelle told her as they followed the Doctor. "He just likes using that word. It isn't fantastic at all."

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose and Cassandra were looking out of the window at the Sun and down at the Earth. "Soon the Sun will blossom into a Red Giant and my home will die." Cassandra mused. "That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy. Down there. Mummy and daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles crevice. I had such fun." she sighed.

"What happened to everyone else? The Human Race, where did it go?" Rose asked.

"They say Mankind has touched every star in the sky."

"So, ya not the last Human."

"I am the last pure Human." Cassandra sneered. "The others... mingled. Oh, they call themselves 'New Humans' and 'Proto-Humans' and 'Digi-Humans' even 'Human-ish' but d'you know what I call them? Mongrels."

Rose glowered. Obviously, Cassandra was a racist xenophobe. "Right." she said flatly. "And you stayed behind."

"I kept myself pure."

"How many operations have you had?"

"708." Cassandra replied nonchalantly. "Next week, it's 709. I'm having my blood bleached. Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Rose. You've got a little bit of a chin poking out."

"I'd rather die." Rose said hastily.

"Honestly, it doesn't hurt."

"No, I mean it. I'd rather die. It's better to die than live like you, a bitchy trampoline."

"Oh well, what do you know?" Cassandra said condescendingly.

"I was born on that planet." Rose shot back, losing patience with Cassandra. "And so was my mum, and so was my dad and that makes me officially the last human being in this room, 'cos you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. Ya just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin. Nice talking." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, not noticing the Adherents of the Repeated Meme watching her.

~8~

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Gazelle and Jabe were still making their through the maintenance corridors. "So, tell me, Jabe. What's a Tree like you doing in a place like this?" the Doctor asked.

"Respect for the Earth." Jabe replied.

"Oh, come on." the Doctor scoffed. "Everyone on this platform's worth zillions."

"Well... perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions." Jabe shrugged.

"In case yer share prices drop?" the Doctor snorted. "I know you lot. Yer've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere, and there's money in land."

"All the same, we respect the Earth as family." Jabe said sincerely. "So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below. And I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest."

Both the Doctor and Gazelle were impressed with that. The Doctor then noticed a control panel nearby. "Excuse me." he said, and started poking the panel with his sonic screwdriver.

"And what about your ancestries?" Jabe asked the two time travellers. "Perhaps you two could tell a few stories. Perhaps a man and woman only enjoy trouble when there's nothing else left. I scanned you both earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species."
The Doctor pretended to be concentrating on his scan, but a flicker of emotion crossed his face.
"And even when it named you both, I wouldn't believe it." Jabe continued. "But it was right."
The Doctor stopped scanning, deep sadness reflected in his eyes.
"I know where you're both from." Jabe continued softly. "Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that the two of you even exist. I just want to say... how sorry I am."

The Doctor was now staring at the screen, his face sad and solemn, while Gazelle was looking down at her boots, her eyes shining with tears. Jabe put a comforting pair of hands on both time travellers' arms and the Doctor placed his hand over Jabe's, a single tear running down his cheek. Pulling themselves together, Gazelle blinked her tears away and the Doctor quickly finished his scan, then they and Jabe went through a door. They found themselves in the ventilation chamber. There was a vast open chasm that made up the chamber, with a catwalk crossing it and three huge circular fans bisected the catwalk. "Is it me or is it a bit nippy?" the Doctor commented.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose was walking alone down a corridor when she saw the Adherents of the Repeated Meme coming the other way. Just as they passed, the leader suddenly struck her with it's metal gauntlet, knocking her out cold.

~8~

"Not sure putting the fans on the walkway was a good idea." Gazelle commented as she, the Doctor and Jabe looked at the fans.

"Fair do's, though, that's a great bit of air conditioning." the Doctor remarked. "Sort of, nice and old fashioned. Bet they call it 'retro.'" He scanned another control panel with his sonic screwdriver. "Gotcha!" he remarked as the panel fell off. A metal spider scuttled out and scurried across the floor and began to climb up the wall. "What the hell's that?" the Doctor frowned.

"Is it part of the retro?" Jabe wandered.

"I doubt it." Gazelle said as she tried to scan the spider with her sonic screwdriver, but it was too fast for her.

Jabe then fired what looked like a vine out of her arm and struck the spider, disabling it and causing it to fall into the Doctor's hands. "Hey, nice liana!" he praised, impressed.

"Thank you." Jabe blushed. "We're not supposed to show them in public."

"We won't tell anyone if you don't." Gazelle winked, then she and the Doctor turned their attention to the spider.

"Now then, who's been bringing their pets on board?" the Doctor said rhetorically.

"What does it do?" Jabe asked them.

"Sabotage." the Doctor replied grimly.

"Earth death in 10 minutes." the computer announced.

"And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on!" the Doctor urged, and they hurried out of the chamber, agreeing to inform the Steward about the spider. There could be more of them, so they needed to make the staff aware of them quickly.

When they reached the Steward's office, they found smoke wafting out from under the door and members of staff fussing about outside. Gazelle, who was nearest to the control panel by the office door, rushed over to it and used her sonic screwdriver on it.

"Sun filter rising." the computer reported. "Sun filter rising."

"Was the Steward in there?" a concerned Jabe asked.

"I think he was, the poor fellow." Gazelle replied grimly. "We can smell him." Then, her sonic screwdriver revealed more bad news. "There's another sun filter programmed to descend." she told the Doctor, and they hurried off to find out where.

~8~

Rose regained consciousness to find herself inside a private viewing gallery. As she regained her bearings, she heard the computer's voice, "Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending."

Rose sat up in alarm as the sun filter did indeed descend, letting in the Sun's rays. She ran to the door and knocked on it frantically. "Let me out!" she hollered. "Let me out! Let me out!"

On the other side of the door, the Doctor and Gazelle arrived. "Anyone in there?" the Doctor called.

"LET ME OUT!" Rose shrieked, pounding on the door.

"Oh, well, it would be you!" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Rose hollered.

"Hold on, give us two ticks." the Doctor said, and flashed his sonic screwdriver on the control panel beside the doors, while Gazelle tried to pull the doors open, but to no avail.

Then, the computer announced, "Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising." The Doctor looked pleased with himself, but it was short-lived "Sun filter rising." the computer said, then next second, "Sun filter descending."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Gazelle hollered, running over to a maintenance cover beneath the control panel and pulling it off to get at the wires behind it.

"WILL YA STOP MUCKING ABOUT?!" Rose yelled as the sun filter began to descend again.

"We're not mucking about, it's fighting back!" the Doctor protested as he working in vain at the control panel.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Rose shrieked as the Sun's rays came uncomfortably close to her.

"We're trying!" Gazelle called back, urgently messing about with the wires.

"THE LOCK'S MELTED!" Rose shouted as she ran down the steps and threw herself flat on the floor, bracing herself for the horrible death that was surely coming in just a few seconds.

Gazelle jabbed her sonic screwdriver into the wiring. "Sun filter rising." the computer announced. "Sun filter rising." Everyone held their breaths for a moment, but it seemed that the computer had been overpowered this time and the sun filter rose all the way back to the top.

Panting heavily at the close shave, Rose ran back to the door, while the Doctor and Gazelle tried to pull them open, but they were wedged solid. "The whole thing's jammed. We can't open the doors." the Doctor called to Rose. "Stay there, don't move!"

"Where're am I gonna go, Ipswich?!" Rose shot back sarcastically.

"We'll get ya out, Rose, I promise." Gazelle called, then she and the Doctor ran back to the observation gallery to fetch help.

"Earth death in 5 minutes." the computer announced.

~8~

In the observation gallery, Jabe had informed everyone about the spider and had scanned it with her computer. "The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One." she announced grimly.

"How's that possible?" Cassandra questioned. "Our rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturise me, Moisturise me." she ordered her attendants, who complied.

The Doctor and Gazelle arrived at that moment and the Doctor took the spider from Jabe. Both time travellers were on the warpath now; someone had murdered the Steward and had tried to murder Rose too, so they were determined to find out who.

"Summon the Steward." the Moxx of Balhoon suggested, and the others murmured their agreement

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe said sadly, and there was a general gasp of shock from everyone except Cassandra.

"Who killed him?" the Moxx of Balhoon breathed in horror.

"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe!" Cassandra accused. "He invited us! Talk to the face! Talk to the face!"
The Face of Boe shook his head as if to say that he had no idea any of this would happen.

"Easy way of finding out." the Doctor spoke up. "Someone brought a little pet on board." He showed them the spider. "Let's send him back to master."

He placed the spider on the floor and it scuttled along the floor to Cassandra and looked up to her. She looked shifty for a moment, something which both the Doctor and Gazelle noticed, then the spider moved on the feet of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra said smugly.

"That's all very well, and really kinda obvious," the Doctor said, striding over to the Adherents, "but if yer stop and think about it..."
The leader of the Adherents tried to swing a blow at him, but he just caught the arm and ripped it clean off, revealing wires sticking out of it.
"A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He yanked out a wire and all the Adherents fell to the floor. "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo!" he nudged the spider with the toe of his boot. "Go home!"

The spider ambled back over to Cassandra. "I bet you were the school swot who never got kissed." she sneered, annoyed at being rumbled. "At arms!" she ordered her attendants, who raised their canisters at the Doctor.

"What're yer gonna do? Moisturise me?" he sassed, not impressed by the threat.

"With acid." Cassandra retorted. "Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

Gazelle suddenly remembered the open ball she'd seen earlier. The spiders must have been concealed inside the balls and were now free to run amok around the station.

"Sabotaging a ship while yer still inside it? How stupid's that?" the Doctor scoffed at Cassandra's last remark.

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims." Cassandra answered. "The compensation would have been enormous."

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money." Gazelle shook her head in disgust. "Nothing ever changes."

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?" Cassandra retorted "Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last Human. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours."

Both the Doctor and Gazelle glared furiously at Cassandra, realising she was responsible for Rose nearly getting burnt to a crisp.

"Arrest her!" the Moxx of Balhoon ordered. "The infidel!"

"Oh, shut up, pixie!" Cassandra snapped. "I've still got my final option."

"Earth death in 3 minutes." the computer announced.

"And here it comes." Cassandra smirked. "You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? 'Burn baby, burn.'"

"Then you'll burn with us." Jabe vowed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Cassandra said in a sickly-sweet voice. "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate."

~8~

A series of small explosions rocked Platform One and alarms began to blare all over the station.

~8~

"Force fields gone with the planet about to explode." Cassandra taunted. "At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband." She sniggered at her joke. "Oh, shame on me! Bye-bye, darlings. Bye-bye, my darlings." And she and her attendants teleported out

"Heat levels rising." the computer announced.

"Reset the computer!" the Moxx of Balhoon ordered frantically.

"Only the Steward would know how." Jabe said gravely.

"No, we can do it ourselves." Gazelle said. "I saw a systems restore switch earlier." she told the Doctor.

"Right, come on." the Doctor nodded, and they turned to leave. "You lot, just chill!" he called over his shoulder to the others.

"Good luck, Time Lords." Jabe called after them. The Doctor and Gazelle both stopped and looked at her. She gave them a knowing smile, and they turned and hurried off to the engine room, while Jabe stayed to try and keep the others calm.

"Earth death in 2 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 2 minutes."

~8~

By the time the Doctor and Gazelle reached the ventilation chamber, the heat levels were rising dangerously. They could see the system restore switch; it was at the other end of the catwalk, beyond the fans, which were now spinning at warp speed to try to deal with the increased heat

"Oh, and guess where the switch is." the Doctor huffed, agreeing with Gazelle's earlier comment about the fans.

"Heat levels rising." the computer announced. "Heat levels rising."
The Doctor saw a lever on the wall to their right, so he pulled it down and the fans slowed down.
"External temperature, 5,000 degrees." the computer reported.
The Doctor let go of the lever and went for the fans, but the lever promptly shot up and the fans sped up again.

Gazelle studied the fans for a moment. She knew that there was only one option; someone was going to have to hold the lever down so that the other person could get past the fans, so she slammed the lever down and held it there, slowing the fans down. The Doctor turned to her, realising what she was doing. "You can't!" he protested. "The heat's gpnna vent through this place."

"I know." Gazelle replied.

"Remii, we might be tough, but we're not exactly heat-resistant." the Doctor warned.

"Well, hurry up, then!" Gazelle retorted. "The sooner you get to that switch, the less time I've gotta hold this thing down for!"

The Doctor swallowed. He wasn't happy about this at all, but he knew that there was no other option, so he ran towards the fans.

"Heat levels rising." the computer droned on. "Heat levels rising."

~8~

In the observation gallery, the glass on the windows began to crack. "We're going to die!" the Moxx of Balhoon whimpered.

~8~

"Heat levels hazardous." the computer said as the Doctor dodged the first fan and he looked up anxiously at the next one. "Shields malfunctioning."

~8~

The glass in the window of the gallery Rose was trapped in began to crack and the young woman promptly cowered against the wall as rays of Sun blasted in through the cracks and hit the walls, burning holes in it. Rose yelped and did her best to dodge the rays.

~8~

The Doctor was still standing before the second fan. He looked back at Gazelle to see that she was sweating bullets and breathing heavily, but she still held the lever down. "Heat levels critical." the computer droned on as the Doctor dodged under the second fan.

~8~

In the observation gallery, the cracks widened, allowing rays of Sun in, which struck the Moxx of Balhoon. He screamed terribly as he was incinerated by the rays.

~8~

Things weren't much better in the room Rose was trapped in. Sun rays hit the wall either side of her, trapping her in one spot.

~8~

"Planet explodes in 10, 9..." the computer began as the Doctor reached the third fan. "8, 7, 6, 5, 4..."

Judging his moment, the Doctor ducked underneath the fan and sprinted to the switch. "Raise shields!" he ordered as he slammed the switch down.

~8~

Rose closed her eyes and braced herself as the computer's countdown reached zero.

~8~

The shields around Platform One sprang back up just a millisecond before Planet Earth was engulfed by flames and exploded in a huge fireball.

~8~

"Exoglass repair." the computer stated. "Exoglass repair."

Rose gingerly opened her eyes to see the cracks in the window sealing themselves and beyond, all that was left of Earth were floating rocks.

~8~

In the engine room, the Doctor made his way back through the fans, which were now back to going at normal pace now that the temperature was normal again, and crossed to Gazelle, who was now slumped on the floor. She was red in the face, completely drenched in sweat and panting heavily for breath. "We did it, Remii." the Doctor said, carefully picking her up in his arms. "It's over. You were fantastic. C'mon, let's get out of here." And he carried her out of the room.

~8~

With the systems restored to normal, Rose was able to get out of the room she was trapped in. She wasn't hurt, but was badly shaken up by the near-death experience. On her way out, she retrieved Gazelle's sonic screwdriver from the maintenance panel and headed for the observation gallery. When she arrived, she found the aliens sitting around, wounded or dead. The Doctor walked briskly in a few moments later. He went over to Jabe, who informed him of what had happened while he was gone, then he crossed over to Rose, glad to see her unharmed.

"Where's Gazelle? Is she alright?" Rose asked him.

"She's fine." the Doctor replied, taking his friend's sonic screwdriver from Rose. "She's in the TARDIS, having a well-earned rest."

"And what about you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." the Doctor replied, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I'm full of ideas. I'm brisling with 'em. Idea number one: teleportation through 5,000 degrees of heat needs some kinda feed. Idea number two: this feed must be hidden nearby." He strode over to the ostrich egg and broke it open, revealing a remote device inside it, which the Doctor picked up. "Idea number three: if yer as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."

He twisted the feed and Cassandra reappeared before them, apparently in the middle of gloating. "Ah, you should've seen their little faces..." She noticed her new surroundings. "Oh."

"The last Human." the Doctor sneered, having lost all patience with this greedy, selfish, barely Human thing.

"So. You passed my little test." a nervous Cassandra said. "Bravo. That makes eligible to join the er... the Human club."

The Doctor was in no mood for nonsense. "People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them. And my friends were put in danger, because of you."

The anger in his voice was obvious, and a wise person wouldn't provoke him any further, but Cassandra wasn't a wise being. "That depends on your definition of 'people'." she said callously. "And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, then, Doctor. And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter..."

"And creak?"

"And what?

"Creak. You're creaking." the Doctor taunted, and sure enough, Cassandra's skin was tightening, her eyes became bloodshot and she grew whiter and whiter.

"What? Ah! Ah! I'm drying out!" she began to panic. "Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturise me! Moisturise me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" she broke out in red blotches

"You raised the temperature." the Doctor callously reminded her.

"Have pity!" Cassandra pleaded. "Moisturise me! Oh, Doctor! I'm sorry, I'll do anything!"

"Help her." Rose told the Doctor gently, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Everything has it's time and everything dies." the Doctor said coldly.

Cassandra began to shrivel up. "I'm... too... young. Argh!" she groaned before promptly exploding, sending bits of skin flying everywhere and leaving just an empty frame.
The Doctor looked on, completely cold and unfazed. He turned on his heel and left the room.

~8~

About an hour later, the surviving guests had all gone home and Rose was standing alone in the observation gallery, watching the rocks that were once Planet Earth float past outside the window. She heard footsteps and turned to see the Doctor walk back in with Gazelle, who was feeling a lot better now that she'd had a rest, a cold drink and a shower, though she still looked a bit cooked.

"The end of the Earth." Rose said sadly as the two aliens joined her by the window. "It's gone. And we were too busy saving ourselves, no one saw it go. All those years... all that history and no one was even looking. It's just..."

Gazelle took the sad Human's hand. "Come with us." she said gently, and she and the Doctor led Rose to the hanger bay where the TARDIS was waiting.

~8~

After a short and silent flight, Rose stepped out of the TARDIS to find herself in Piccadilly Circus back in 2005. She looked at the crowds of people milling about, seeing them in a new light as the Doctor and Gazelle came up either side of her.

"Yer think it'll last forever." the Doctor said sagely. "People, and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky."

They were silent for a moment, then Gazelle spoke up. "Our planet's gone." she said sadly. "It was a beautiful place, and we took it for granted, but then it burnt like the Earth. Now it's just atoms and memories. It went before it's time."

"What happened?" Rose asked cautiously.

"There was a war and we lost." the Doctor replied solemnly.

"A war with who?" Rose asked.
Neither alien answered; the Doctor seemed lost in thought, while Gazelle wistfully watched the crowds of Humans happily milling about around them.
"What about your people?" Rose tried.

"I'm a Time Lord, and Gazelle's a Time Lady." the Doctor replied. "We're the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. We're the only survivors. We're left travelling together on our own because there's no one else."

"There's me." Rose offered, giving them both a small smile.

Gazelle turned to her. "You've seen just how dangerous it is around us." she said seriously. "D'ya wanna go home?"

"I don't know." Rose replied, unsure. She really didn't know what she wanted. Nearly getting burnt alive no less than twice in the space of five minutes had badly shaken her, but after hearing the Time Lords' confessions, she felt a duty of care towards them both. She was pulled from her thoughts by a familiar smell in the air. "Oh! Can you two smell chips?"

"Yeah. Yeah!" the Doctor laughed.

"Yep." Gazelle added.

"I want chips." Rose said.

"Me too." the Doctor smiled.

"Me three." Gazelle chimed in.

"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is." Rose said, feeling more cheerful. "And you can pay." she told the Doctor.

"No money." he shrugged.

Gazelle rolled her eyes at him. "Luckily, some of us have the sense to keep money on us." she remarked as she reached into her pockets and found a £20 note. "This should be enough for three of us."

"Come on, then." Rose said brightly. "We've only got five billion years before the shops close." She linked arms with the two Time Lords, and they walked away down the street together, laughing and talking.

Chapter Text

It was mayhem inside the TARDIS. Alarms were blaring and the whole box was shaking. "Hold that one down!" the Doctor ordered Rose, pointing to a button.

"I'm holding this one down!" Rose called from the other side of the console, where she was currently occupied holding another button down.

"Well, hold them both down!" the Doctor retorted.

"Hang on, I'll get it." Gazelle said, moving round the console and pressing the offending button.

The Doctor meanwhile began typing in co-ordinates. "Right, yer've seen the future, let's have a look at the past." he said to Rose "1860. How does 1860 sound?"

"What happens in 1860?" Rose asked.

"Dunno, let's find out." the Doctor answered. "Hold on, here we go!" He pulled a lever and the TARDIS shot off through the Time Vortex.

After a few moments of this wild ride, the box came to a sudden stop, sending the trio all tumbling to the floor. "Blimey!" Rose laughed.

"You can say that again." Gazelle remarked, picking herself up and dusting her jeans off. "You alright?" she asked Rose, holding a hand out to help the Human up.

"Yeah, I think so." Rose replied as the Time Lady helped her to stand. "Nothing broken... did we make it? Where are we?" she asked the Doctor, who had picked himself up and moved over to the monitor.

"I did it!" he cheered, studying the screen. "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th 1860."

"That's so weird." Rose commented. "It's Christmas."

"All yours." the Doctor said, gesturing to the doors, while Gazelle went to the monitor to check the environment outside.

"But, it's like... think about it, though." Rose mused. "Christmas. 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you two. You two can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago... no wonder ya never stay still."

"Not a bad life." the Doctor smiled.

"Better with three." Rose grinned, and bounced over towards the doors. "C'mon, then!"

"Oi, oi, oi! Where d'yer think you're going?" the Doctor called after her.

"1860." Rose replied as if it was obvious.

"Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella!" the Doctor said rudely, gesturing to Rose's hoodie and jeans. "There's a wardrobe through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on yer left. Hurry up!"

Rose stared at him, wandering how the heck she was supposed to remember all that. Gazelle seemed to realise this. "C'mon, Rose. I'll show ya the way." she said. "Think I'll get changed myself."

"What, you're dressing up?" the Doctor raised a brow.

"Yes, I am." Gazelle replied, "What's wrong with that?"

"We've been travelling together for years and you never dress up. You just use yer perception filter. What's changed?"

"Well, I don't see the point in dressing up, given how nine times out of ten we end up running for our lives..." Gazelle explained, "but since ya making Rose suffer Victorian fashion, it's only fair that I share that suffering. So, shall we?" she said to Rose, and led the Human through a door in the far corner of the console room.

Gazelle led Rose through a series of corridors lined with doors. Some were open and Rose could glimpse a model railway layout in one room and a vast library in another, while another room appeared to contain an Olympic-sized swimming pool. "Blimey, how big is this thing?" she asked.

"To be honest, no one really knows for sure." Gazelle replied. "Our people were good with dimensions, that's why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside; she's got an entire dimension inside her. In theory, a TARDIS could be infinite."

"Right." Rose said slowly, processing this information. It seemed that the two Time Lords were full of surprises. "Um, Gazelle, can I ask ya something personal?"

"Depends on how personal it is."

"You and the Doctor, what's the real story between you two?"

"I told ya before, Rose, we just travel together. We're the last of our species, so we've gotta stick together."

"Just how together are ya both?" Rose pushed.

"We're just friends, Rose. That's it. Friends." Gazelle insisted. Soon, they reached a pair of double doors. "Right, here we are." the Time Lady said, throwing the doors open, and Rose stepped through to find herself in what was pretty much a super deluxe Primark.

~8~

Half-an-hour later, the Doctor was under the flooring in the console room, repairing some bits of the TARDIS that had been damaged during the rough flight. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Rose enter the room, dressed in a red and black Victorian gown and a black cloak, while her hair done up in a neat bun, held up by a pink flower clip. "You look nice." the Doctor remarked. "Considering."

"Considering what?"

"That yer Human." the Doctor said, finishing up his work.

"I think that's a compliment." an amused Rose shrugged.

"Where's Gazelle?" the Doctor asked, climbing out of the hole he'd been working in.

"She's just coming." Rose replied. "Took me ages to get her to wear the dress I picked out for her." Then, footsteps sounded from behind her. "Ah, and here she is."

Right on cue, Gazelle entered the console room. She was wearing a midnight blue velvet gown, white gloves and a hooded black cloak, while her hair was pulled into a neat updo, held up by a brown butterfly-patterned clip.

The Doctor stared at her. "Blimey!" was all he could say.

"I know, I know." Gazelle mumbled, looking at the floor and fidgeting with her skirts. "I did tell Rose this was too much, but she insisted. I look ridiculous, don't I?"

"You look beautiful." the Doctor blurted out, causing Gazelle to lift her head, her cheeks going bright red. The Doctor swiftly looked away, his own face blushing with embarrassment.

Rose watched this with amusement. "Just friends my arse!" she thought to herself. "Aren't you going to change?" she asked the Doctor, deciding to spare the two Time Lords from their embarrassment.

"I've changed me jumper." the Doctor shrugged, gesturing to the navy blue V-neck jumper he'd changed into while he'd been waiting. "Come on!" He began to move towards the doors.

"You two stay there!" Rose said, running to the doors. "You've done this before. This is mine!" She opened the door to see that the TARDIS had landed in a snow-covered alleyway. She made a footprint in the untouched snow, then withdrew her foot again before stepping out altogether and looked around in wonder.

The Doctor and Gazelle stepped out behind her, their arms linked together and Gazelle's hood was pulled up to protect her from the chill in the air. "You ready for this?" she asked Rose, who grinned and nodded.

"Here we go." the Doctor said, linking his other arm with Rose's "History." and the trio walked off together.

~8~

The three time travellers were were soon wandering through the snow-covered streets. Rose looked around in awe. It was like a scene from a Christmas card; with people in Victorian dress walking around, horses and carts going along the road, which was illuminated by gas lamps, and somewhere in the distance, they could hear carollers singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Presently, the Doctor broke off to get a newspaper from a street vendor, looking to see if there was anything interesting happening. The Doctor's smile faded when he saw the paper. "I got the flight a bit wrong." he said, disappointed.

"I don't care." Rose replied.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"Ah, well, at least it's the right decade." Gazelle shrugged.

"And it's not Naples." the Doctor continued.

"I don't care." Rose said.

"It's Cardiff."

That wiped the smile off Rose's face. "Right." she said slowly.

"Nothing wrong with Cardiff, Rose." Gazelle told her "It may not be Naples, but it's still a nice city."

The trio continued walking and presently, they came to a theatre called the Taliesin Lodge. Just as they were walking past, they heard screaming coming from inside. "That's more like it!" the Doctor grinned, and he and Gazelle took off running towards the scene, Rose tagging along behind them.

The Time Lords entered the theatre and weaved their way through the panicking crowds until they reached the stage and saw the cause of the commotion. A blue vapour was pouring out of the mouth of an elderly woman and swirling around the room, while a well-dressed bearded gentleman was trying to pacify the fleeing crowds to no avail.

"Fantastic." the Doctor breathed as the last of the vapour left the woman's mouth and she slumped back into a seat. The Doctor turned to the gentleman. "Did yer see where it came from?" he asked.

"Ah. The wag reveals himself, does he?" the man scowled. "I trust you're satisfied, sir?!"
The Doctor looked slightly taken aback at that.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose's voice called out, and the Time Lords turned to see an old man and a young woman making off with the old woman's body. "I'll get 'em." Rose said to the Time Lords, and went off after the two body-snatchers.

"Be careful!" Gazelle called after her. She wanted to go with Rose, but she couldn't get near due to the stampede of people in the way, so she turned back to the Doctor, who had climbed onto the stage and approached the gentleman.

"Did it say anything? Could it speak?" he asked enthusiastically. "I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is Gazelle." he gestured to the Time Lady, who had joined them.

"Doctor? You look more like a navvy." the gentleman commented.

The Doctor turned to Gazelle. "What's wrong with this jumper?" he asked her indignantly.
Gazelle just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the vapour creature.

~8~

Rose rushed outside the theatre and found that the man and woman had bundled the old woman into the back of a horse-drawn hearse. "What're ya doing?!" Rose demanded as she caught up with them.

"Oh, it's such a tragedy, miss." the woman tried to wave her off. "Don't worry yourself, me and the master will deal with it. The fact is, this poor lady's been with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary."

But Rose wasn't convinced and she pushed past the woman and placed a hand on the old woman's forehead. "She's cold." she noted. "She's dead! My God, what did you do to her?!"

Suddenly, the old man snuck up behind Rose and clamped a chloroform-soaked rag in the young woman's face. Rose struggled for a few seconds, then she went limp.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and the gentleman watched as the blue vapour dived into a gas light and disappeared. "Gas?" the Doctor mused. "It's made of gas."

"Come on, let's find Rose." Gazelle said, and the two Time Lords ran back outside.

They were just in time to see the young woman finish bundling an unconscious Rose into the back of the hearse. "ROSE!" the Time Lords yelled, running towards the hearse, but it sped off before they could get near.

"You're not escaping me!" the gentleman said, sprinting after them. "What do you two know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"

"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks." the Doctor fobbed him off, then he and Gazelle scrambled into a coach parked nearby. "Oi, you! Follow that hearse!" he ordered the driver.

"You can't do that, sir!" the driver said.

"Why not?"

"Why not?!" the gentleman glared, poking his head through the door. "I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!"

"Well, come on, then!" Gazelle said, grabbing the man by his lapels and pulling him inside the coach too.

"Move!" the Doctor ordered the driver, and the coach rumbled off in pursuit of the hearse.

"Hurry up, ya losing 'em!" Gazelle urged.

"Everything in order, Mr Dickens?" the driver called down to the gentleman.

"No! It is not!" the gentleman moaned.

The Time Lords' attention was caught by the name the driver had used. "What did he say?" the Doctor stared.

"Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour..." the gentleman began.

"Dickens?" the Doctor interrupted.

"Yes."

"Charles Dickens?" the Doctor reiterated.

"Yes." he confirmed.

"The Charles Dickens?" Gazelle asked.

"Shall I remove the lady and gentleman, sir?" the driver asked.

Before Dickens could answer, the Doctor spoke again, "Charles Dickens! You're brilliant, you are! Completely 100% brilliant! I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and what's the other one, the one with the ghosts?" he asked Gazelle.

"A Christmas Carol?" she offered.

"No, no. The one with the trains." the Doctor replied.

"Ah, The Signalman." Gazelle remembered.

"That's it." the Doctor confirmed. "Terrifying! The best short story ever written! Yer a genius!" he told Dickens, who looked pleased.

"You want me to get rid of 'em, sir?" the driver offered again.

"Er, no, I think they can stay." Dickens replied, flattered at the compliments.

"Honestly, Charles, can I call yer Charles? I'm such a big fan." the Doctor gushed.

"Me too." Gazelle added.

"What?" a puzzled Dickens asked. "You're both whats?"

"Fans!" the Doctor replied. "Number one fans, that's us."

"How exactly are you fans?" Dickens questioned. "In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?"

"He means fanatic." Gazelle explained. "Admirers, devoted to you."

"Mind you, I've gotta say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about?!" Doctor questioned. "Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit."

"I thought you said you were my fan." a disgruntled Dickens said.

"Ah, well, if yer can't take criticism." the Doctor shrugged. "Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up."
Gazelle cleared her throat and pointed to the hearse in front, reminding the Doctor of why they were here in the first place.
"No, sorry, come on, faster!" he ordered the driver, who urged the horses on.

"Who exactly is in this hearse? Dickens questioned.

"Our friend." Gazelle replied "She's only 19. She's in our care and she's been kidnapped, and it's my fault."

"It's our fault." the Doctor corrected her. He wasn't going to let her blame herself for something she couldn't help.

"Why are we wasting time talking about dry old books?" Dickens said. "This is much more important. Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!" he ordered the driver.

"Yes, sir!" the driver replied, and urged the horses faster.

"Attaboy, Charlie!" the Doctor grinned.

"Nobody calls me Charlie." Dickens huffed.

"The ladies do." the Doctor smirked.

"How do you know that?"

"I told you. we're your number one..."

"Number one fans, yes, I know." Dickens rolled his found the hearse parked outside Sneed's funeral parlour in the Llandaff area of the city. The Time Lords agreed to let Dickens do the talking. He knocked on the door, which was answered by a young woman in a maid's uniform; the same woman who Rose had been talking to before she'd been kidnapped. "I'm sorry, sir. We're closed." she said.

"Nonsense! Since when did undertakers keep office hours?" Dickens scoffed. "The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master."

"He's not in, sir." the maid replied, and made to shut the door, but Dickens forced it open again.

"Don't lie to me, child!" he scolded. "Summon him at once."

"I'm awfully sorry, sir, but the master's indisposed." the maid lied.

Just then, the Time Lords noticed the gas lamp behind the maid flare up in the same way the one in the theatre did. "Having trouble with yer gas?" the Doctor commented.

"What the Shakespeare is going on?" Dickens muttered.

~8~

Rose awoke to find herself in a chapel of rest. She sat up and let her senses come back to her. She supposed that being chloroformed wasn't as painful as being coshed on the head, but it did leave a nasty taste in the mouth. In her groggy state, she didn't notice a blue vapour stream out of a gas lamp and into the dead body of a young man in a nearby coffin, which sat up suddenly.

Rose turned when she heard a zombie-like noise from behind her. "You're kidding me, yeah?" she groaned. "Ya just kidding."
The man's body began to climb out of the coffin.
"You are, you're kidding me, aren't ya?"
The body took staggering steps towards her. "Ok, not kidding." Rose breathed, getting to her feet and running to the door.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle slipped past the maid and pressed their ears to the wall by the gas lamp, ignoring the maid's protests. "There's something inside the walls." Gazelle observed.

"The gas pipes." the Doctor agreed. "Something's living inside the gas."

~8~

Rose tried in vain to open the locked door of the chapel of rest, then she heard a noise from behind and turned to see that the old woman's body had come to life too. She picked up a vase from the table by the door and threw it at the man's body, but all it did was make him stumble slightly. "LET ME OUT!" Rose shrieked, rattling the door knob frantically. "OPEN THE DOOR!"

~8~

The Time Lords heard Rose's shouts from where they were in the hallway. "That's her!" the Doctor realised, and he and Gazelle sped off in the direction Rose's voice had come from with Dickens right behind them.

~8~

"PLEASE, LET ME OUT!" Rose yelled as the bodies continued to advance on her.

~8~

As they ran towards Rose's location, the Time Lords passed the old man. "How dare you!" he protested as they charged past him. "This is my house!"

"Shut up!" Dickens snapped as he passed.

~8~

Rose was still hammering on the door as the bodies came closer and closer. "LET ME OUT!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "SOMEBODY, OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR!"

The man's body clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling her screams, and began to drag her back. At that moment, the Doctor booted the door in and Gazelle backhanded the body, causing it to let go of Rose. "I think this is our dance." the Doctor quipped as Dickens, the old man and the maid arrived.

"It's a prank, it must be." Dickens stammered, trying to make sense of the walking bodies. "We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not. The dead are walking." the Doctor replied grimly.

Gazelle meanwhile focussed on Rose "Are you alright?" she asked her.

"Yeah." Rose replied. "Who's ya friend?"

"Charles Dickens."

"Oh, ok."

"My name's the Doctor." the Time Lord said to the bodies. "Who are you, then? What d'yer want?"

"Failing." the bodies replied in a shared, female voice. "Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form, cannot sustain, help us." they opened their mouths and the blue gas left them with a wailing sound, then both bodies fell to the floor, once again dead and unmoving.

~8~

Presently, the group were all gathered in the living room. The maid, who was named Gwyneth, was pouring everyone tea, Dickens was sat at a table, the Time Lords were standing near the fireplace and Rose was giving the old man, Gabriel Sneed the undertaker, a piece of her mind. "First of all ya drug me," she fumed, "then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel ya hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!"

"I won't be spoken to like this." Sneed protested.

"Then ya stuck me in a room full of zombies!" Rose continued to rant. "And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave me to die! So come on, talk!"

"It's not my fault, it's this house!" Sneed blustered. "It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs..." Dickens shot him a disapproving look. "The, er, dearly departed started getting restless."

"Tommyrot." Dickens scoffed.

"You witnessed it!" Sneed pointed out. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the querist thing that they cling onto scraps..."

Just then, the Time Lords' attention was caught by Gwyneth giving them their cups of tea. "There you go, ma'am, no sugar, as you like." she said to Gazelle, then she gave the Doctor his cup. "Two sugars, sir. Just how you like it." And she walked away, the Time Lords watching her curiously. Neither of them had told Gwyneth about their tea preferences. They both began to suspect that there was something different about this woman.

"One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service!" Sneed continued. "Just like that old lady going to your performance, sir. Just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy." Dickens dismissed.

"You were there, Charles." Gazelle pointed out. "You saw it too."

"I saw nothing but an illusion." Dickens stubbornly insisted.

"If yer going to deny it, don't waste our time. Just shut up!" the Doctor said rudely, earning him a whack on the shoulder from Gazelle. The Doctor ignored it and turned to Sneed. "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that." Sneed replied.

"Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through." the Doctor mused.

"What's a rift?" Rose asked.

"A weak point in time and space." the Doctor explained. "A connection between this place and another."

"They're the cause of ghost stories most of the time." Gazelle added.

"That's how I got the house so cheap." Sneed realised. "Stories going back generations; echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air and this feeling like a... shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

Just then, Gazelle noticed that there was no sign of Dickens and realised that he must have slipped out while they'd been listening to Sneed, so she set off to find him. She found the famous author in the chapel of rest, examining one of the bodies. "Checking for strings?" she asked him.

"Wires, perhaps." Dickens replied. "There must be some mechanism behind this fraud."

Gazelle came further into the room. "Look, Charles, I'm sorry about how the Doctor spoke to you, but you have one of the best minds of anyone in this world. You saw those gas creatures with ya own eyes."

"I cannot accept that." Dickens denied.

"And when a Human body decomposes, it breaks down and produces gas. The perfect home for these creatures. They can slip in and use 'em as a vehicle for themselves, like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it." Dickens insisted. "Can it be that I have the world all wrong?"

"Not wrong." Gazelle assured him. "There's just more to it than meets the eye."

"I've always rallied against the fantasists. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them, but that's exactly what they were, illusions! The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices, the great social causes, I hoped that I was a cause for good. Now you and your friend tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack 'o' lanterns. In which case, have I wasted my brief span here, madam?" Dickens pleaded. "Has it all been for nothing?"

~8~

Gwyneth was lighting the gas lamp in the kitchen when Rose came in and started doing the washing up. "Please, miss, you shouldn't be helping. It isn't right!" Gwyneth fussed.

"Don't be daft. Sneed works ya to death." Rose replied. "How much d'ya get paid?"

"£8 pound a year, miss."

"How much?!" Rose stared.

"I know. I would've been happy with six." Gwyneth grinned.

Rose nodded, remembering her grandparents telling her that the monetary system was different in bygone days. "So, did ya go to school or what?" she asked.

"Of course I did. What do you think I am? An urchin? I went every Sunday. Nice and proper."

"What, once a week?"

"We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second."

"Me too." Rose laughed, remembering her own time at school.

"Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath on my own." Gwyneth smiled quietly.

"I did plenty of that." Rose laughed. "I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen, and we used to go and look at boys!"

Gwyneth sobered up. "Well, I don't know much about that, miss." She turned to go back to her work.

"Come on, times haven't changed that much!" Rose pushed. "I bet you've done the same."

"I don't think so, miss."

"Gwyneth, you can tell me. I bet you've got ya eye on someone."

Gwyneth turned back round with a small smile. "I suppose so. There is one lad... the butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him!"

"Oh, I like a nice smile." Rose agreed. "Good smile, nice bum."

Gwyneth sobered up again. "Well, I never heard the like." she said primly.

"Ask him out!" Rose encouraged. "Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start."

Gwyneth studied Rose for a moment. "I swear, it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing."

Now it was Rose's turn to sober up. "Maybe I am. Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in ya life than Mr Sneed."

"Ah, now, that's not fair." Gwyneth said. "He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to take me in. Because I lost my mom and dad to the flu when I was 12."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rose said sympathetically.

"Thank you, miss. But I'll be with them again, one day. Sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting you too, miss."

"Maybe." Rose nodded, then realised what Gwyneth had just said. "Um, who told ya he was dead?"

Gwyneth realised what she'd just said and turned back to the washing up. "I don't know, must've been the Doctor or Miss Gazelle." she said lightly.

"My father died years back." Rose said suspiciously. She hadn't told either Time Lord about her dad, so they couldn't have told Gwyneth about him.

"But you've been thinking about him lately, more than ever." Gwyneth stated.

"I s'pose so... How d'ya know all this?" Rose questioned. It was uncanny how Gwyneth knew these things.

"Mr Sneed says I think too much." the maid sighed. "I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, miss?"

"No, no servants where I'm from." Rose laughed, though she certainly felt like a servant back at Henriks.

"And you've come such a long way." Gwyneth stated, looking at Rose intently.

"What makes ya think so?"

Gwyneth looked Rose straight in the eye. "You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about. Half naked, for shame. And the noise... and all the metal boxes racing past... and the birds in the sky... they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. And you, you've flown so far, further than anyone! The things you've seen... the darkness... the big bad wolf." She staggered back, frightened. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss."

"S'alright." Rose reassured her, though she was baffled as to what had just happened.

"I can't help it, ever since I was a little girl." Gwyneth said. "My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it."

"But it's getting stronger. More powerful, is that right?" a familiar Northern-accented voice said from behind them, and they turned to see the Doctor standing in the doorway

"All the time, sir." Gwyneth nodded. "Every night, voices in my head."

"You grew up on top of the rift." the Doctor said. "Yer part of it, you're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. I've consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts."

"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do." the Doctor said.

"What to do where, sir?" Gwyneth asked.

"We're gonna have a séance." the Time Lord stated.

~8~

20 minutes later, everyone was gathered in the living room, ready for the séance. The Doctor, Rose, Dickens, Sneed and Gwyneth were all sat around the table, while Gazelle sat in an armchair nearby, ready to keep a look out in case anything went wrong. "This is how Madame Mortlock summons those from the land of mists down in mid-town." Gwyneth said. "Come. We must all join hands."

"I can't take part in this." Dickens said, standing up.

"Humbug? Come on, open mind." the Doctor encouraged.

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask." Dickens told him. "Seances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing." he sneered.

"Now, don't antagonise her." the Doctor reprimanded him. "I love a happy medium." he said to Rose.

"I can't believe you just said that." Rose smirked.

"Go on, Charles." Gazelle encouraged Dickens. "We might need you."

So Dickens sat down again. "Good man." the Doctor said, and he, Rose, Gwyneth, Sneed and a reluctant Dickens all joined hands. "Now, Gwyneth, reach out." the Doctor instructed.

"Speak to us." Gwyneth said to the ceiling. "Are you there? Spirits? Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden."

Disembodied whispers began to fill the room. "Can you hear that?" Rose asked.

"Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly." Dickens rolled his eyes.

"Look at her." Rose countered, gesturing to Gwyneth.

"I feel them." she said. "I feel them!"

The gas creatures began to fill the room, the whispers getting louder, but still incomprehensible for everyone to understand. "What're they saying?" Rose asked.

"They can't get through the rift." the Doctor replied. "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!" Gwyneth strained.

"Yes, you can." Gazelle encouraged from where she was watching the proceedings. "Just believe in yourself. We all have faith in you. Make the link."

Gwyneth focussed with all her might until her eyes glazed over. "Yes." she murmured as three gaseous figures appeared behind, making Dickens' mouth drop open.

"Great God!" Sneed gasped. "Spirits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe." the Doctor corrected, studying the creatures closely.

"Pity us." the middle figure spoke. "Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us."

"What d'yer want us to do?" the Doctor asked.

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift." the Gelth leader replied. "Make the bridge."

"What for?"

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."

"Why, what happened?"

"Once we had a physical form like you. But then the war came."

"War? What war?" Dickens asked, speaking for the first time since the Gelth had appeared.

"The Time War." the Gelth replied. Rose glanced at the Doctor, who was looking down at the floor in guilt, then she looked to Gazelle, who bowed her head for a moment, then swallowed hard and looked at the Gelth again, trying to keep her judgement clear. "The whole universe convulsed." the Gelth continued. "The Time War raged, invisible to smaller species, but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses." the Doctor realised.

"We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us."

"But we can't!" Rose burst out.

"Why not?" the Doctor countered.

"It's not... I mean, it's not..."

"Not decent? Not polite?" the Doctor interrupted. "It could save their lives."

Rose looked to Gazelle to back her up, but the Time Lady was too busy subtly scanning the Gelth with her sonic screwdriver.

"Open the rift." the Gelth said. "Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!" they disappeared and Gwyneth slumped forward on the table unconscious. Rose and Gazelle quickly hurried over to check on her.

"All true." Dickens breathed, in shock from everything that had just transpired "It's all true."

The Doctor was silent. He sat there processing everything he'd just found out and thinking of what to do.

~8~

When Gwyneth came to, she found herself lying on the settee, with Rose holding her hand and Gazelle mopping her forehead with a damp cloth. She tried to get up, but the Time Lady stopped her. "It's alright, Gwyneth. Just rest." she soothed.

"But my angels, miss." Gwyneth protested. "They came, didn't they? They need me."

"Yes, they do need you, Gwyneth." the Doctor called from where he was leaning against the wall. "You're their only chance of survival."

Rose turned angrily to him. "I've told you, leave her alone." she growled. "She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles."
The Doctor just huffed and turned away, while Rose turned back to Gwyneth and offered her a glass of water. "Drink this."

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Sneed spoke up. "Explain it again. What are they?"

"Aliens." the Doctor said simply.

"Like... foreigners, you mean?"

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there." the Doctor said, pointing upwards.

"Brecon?" Sneed asked, still not quite getting it.

"Close." the Doctor shrugged. "They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl." Dickens remarked from where he was leaning against the mantle, having a drink to calm his nerves.

"They're not having her." Rose said defiantly.

"But she can help." the Doctor protested. "Living on the rift, she's become part of it, she can open it up, make a bridge and let 'em through."

"Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers." Dickens mused.

"Good system. It might work." the Doctor said nonchalantly.

"You can't let 'em run around inside dead people!" Rose protested, storming over to the Doctor.

"Why not?" he countered. "It's like recycling."

"Seriously though, you can't!"

"Seriously though, I can!"

Rose turned to the Time Lady, hoping she would take her side. "Gazelle, tell him!"

"I'm staying out of this." Gazelle replied, putting her hands up in an 'this is nothing to do with me' gesture.

Rose grunted and turned back to the Doctor. "It's just... wrong. Those bodies were living people! We should respect them even in death!"

"Do you carry a donor card?" the Doctor countered.

"That's different, that's..."

"It is different, yeah." the Doctor interrupted. "It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home." he finished rudely and arrogantly

"Oi! Don't talk to her like that!" Gazelle scolded. Although she wasn't taking sides in the argument, she wasn't going let the Doctor enforce his opinion on other people either.

The Doctor realised that he'd crossed the line, so he took a breath and said to Rose in a softer tone, "Look, you heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"I don't care, they're not using her." Rose retorted, not backing down easily.

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth spoke up, and the arguing time travellers turned to face her.

"Look, you don't understand what's going on." Rose told her.

"You would say that, miss. Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid." Gwyneth said simply.

"That's not fair!" Rose tried to defend herself, but Gwyneth had made her decision.

"It's true, though. Things might be very different where you're from. But here and now, I know my own mind. And my angels need me. Doctor, Miss Gazelle, what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything." Gazelle assured her.

"They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So tell me, what do I do?" Gwyneth asked determinedly.

"We need to find the rift." the Doctor decided. "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

Sneed thought for a moment. "That would be the morgue." he answered.

"No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?" a still disgruntled Rose muttered.

"Doctor, can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Gazelle said, and both Time Lords went to the chapel of rest, out of earshot of the Humans. "I don't trust them." Gazelle told the Doctor.

"Who?" the Doctor enquired.

"The Gelth." Gazelle replied. "I'm not sure they're being entirely truthful about themselves. I mean, they actually killed someone earlier tonight."

"Who? And how did yer find that out?"

"While you and Rose were talking to Gwyneth, I had a word with Mr Sneed. You know that young man over there?" Gazelle gestured to the body of the young man that had attacked Rose. "Well, he was mourning his dead grandmother when the Gelth took over her body and snapped his neck, then the Gelth took over his body, and they would've done the same to Rose had we not found her in time."

"It was probably just a misunderstanding." the Doctor tried to reason. "The Gelth are scared, they're not thinking rationally."

Gazelle wasn't buying it. "I doubt it." she said. "And I'm not certain that they're few in number, either. When I scanned them earlier, the life signs were off the scale. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't help them," she emphasised, "but answer me this; have you seriously thought about all the implications and possible consequences of this plan, or are you letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement?"

"Of course I've thought about it!" the Doctor huffed, offended at the implication.

"Then suit yourself." Gazelle said simply, wisely deciding to leave it at that, though she was sure that the Doctor was letting his survivors guilt affect his decision. "I'll say no more on the matter, but just think about this; would you be so cavalier about giving away bodies to the Gelth if they wanted to use the bodies of our people?" And she walked away, leaving the Doctor to think about just how carelessly he was rushing into this.

~8~

When the troupe reached the morgue, they found it to be just as they expected; dark, bare and foreboding. "Ugh, talk about bleak house." the Doctor commented, trying to lighten the mood.

"The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed." Rose said, trying one last time to get him to see sense. "'Cos I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux. It's changing every second." the Doctor told her. "Your cosy little world could be rewritten like that." He clicked his fingers to emphasise his point

"Nothing is safe, Rose." Gazelle added. "Remember that; nothing."

"Doctor," Dickens interrupted, "I think this room is getting colder."

"Here they come." Rose muttered, and sure enough, the Gelth flooded into the room.

The leader positioned itself in an archway. "You've come to help." it said in an angelic female voice. "Praise the Doctor! Praise him!"

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose pleaded, but the Gelth ignored her.

"Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth."

"I'll take yer somewhere else after the transfer." the Doctor told them, Gazelle's words resonating in him. "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"

"My angels." Gwyneth sighed. "I can help them live."

"Ok, where's the weak point?" the Doctor asked.

"Here, beneath the arch." the Gelth replied, and Gwyneth took up position.

"Remember, you don't have to do this." Gazelle reminded her.

"My angels." was all Gwyneth had to say.

"Establish the bridge." the Gelth ordered. "Reach out to the void. Let us through!"

"Yes. I can see you!" Gwyneth said. "I can see you! Come!"

"Bridgehead establishing." the Gelth announced.

"Come!" Gwyneth said. "Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls."

"It has begun!" the Gelth said. "The bridge is made!" Gwyneth's mouth opened and Gelth poured out of it. "She has given herself to the Gelth!"

"Rather a lot of them, eh?" Dickens observed as the Gelth began to stream into the bodies in the morgue.

"The bridge is open. We descend." the Gelth said triumphantly, then suddenly, the figure became demonic and the gas turned from blue to red. "The Gelth will come through in force!" they said in a demonic, growling voice.

"You said you were few in number!" Dickens burst out.

"A few billion." the Gelth retorted. "And all of us in need of bodies." And sure enough, the bodies in the morgue began to rise up from their slabs.

Sneed stepped forward. "Oh, Gwyneth... stop this!" he pleaded, realising that things were getting out of hand. "Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you."

Just then, Gazelle noticed a body creeping up behind him. "Sneed, look out!" she warned, but it was too late. The body grabbed Sneed and snapped his neck, killing him instantly. Then, Gelth poured into his mouth and he looked up at the others with blank, dead eyes.

"I think it's gone a little bit wrong." was all the Doctor could say.

"Ya think?!" Rose glowered.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth." Gelth-Sneed announced "Come, march with us."

"No!" Dickens cowered, backing up towards the exit

The bodies began to advance on everyone "We need bodies." they chanted "All of you. Dead. The Human race, dead."

"Gwyneth, stop them!" the Doctor urged "Send them back, now!"

But Gwyneth was in a trance and didn't respond. "She can't hear ya! Get back!" Gazelle urged the Doctor, pulling him and Rose back towards a gated sluice area.

"Four more bodies. Make them vessels for the Gelth." the Gelth leader ordered, and the bodies continued their advance.

The Doctor opened the sluice gate and he and the women took refuge behind it. Dickens meanwhile was backing up towards the exit. "I.. I can't" I'm sorry!" he stammered. "This new world, it's too much for me! I'm so..." He turned on his heel and fled from the morgue, while the bodies clambered to try and get at the time travellers.

"Give yourselves to glory!" they crowed. "Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth!"

"I trusted you. I pitied you!" the Doctor glared, furious at being tricked.

"We don't want your pity!" the Gelth retorted, pounding on the gate. "We want this world and all it's flesh."

"Not while I'm alive." the Doctor vowed.

"And me!" Gazelle added defiantly. "You'll have to get through us before ya get this world!"

"Then so be it!" the Gelth answered back, reaching through the bars of the gate, trying to claw at the trapped time travellers.

The trio backed up against the wall "But I can't die!" Rose blustered, and looked to the Time Lords for reassurance. "Tell me I can't! I haven't even born yet, it's impossible for me to die! Isn't it?!"

"I'm sorry." Gazelle replied sadly.

~8~

Dickens had made it outside the funeral parlour and leaned against the front door, panting heavily. Suddenly, a Gelth swirled out of the knocker, causing him to run again. The Gelth started to chase him, but stopped suddenly. "Failing!" it wailed. "Atmosphere hostile!" And it dived into a nearby gas lamp.

"Gas..." Dickens breathed, then had a brainwave. "Gas!"

~8~

"But it's 1869," Rose protested, "how can I die now?"

"Time isn't in a straight line. It can twist into any shape." the Doctor replied sorrowfully. "You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you here."

"We brought Rose here." Gazelle said. "It's just as much my fault too."

"It's neither of your's fault." Rose reassured them. "I wanted to come."

"Never thought it'd end like this." Gazelle sighed.

"What about me?" the Doctor groaned. "I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston tea party... now I'm gonna die in a dungeon... in Cardiff!"

"It's not just dying. We'll become one of them!" Rose realised as the Gelth continued to claw through the bars at them.

~8~

Dickens raced back into the funeral parlour and began to turn off the flames for the gas lamps, releasing gas into the air.

~8~

"Well, I'm not gonna make it easy for 'em." Gazelle vowed, steeling herself.

"Me neither." Rose agreed. "We'll go down fighting, yeah?"

"Yeah." the Doctor said.

"All of us?"

"All of us." Gazelle confirmed, and the trio linked hands.

"I'm so glad I met you two." the Doctor said to the women.

"Me too." Rose smiled.

"Me three." Gazelle added. "For Galifrey." she said determinedly.

"For Galifrey." the Doctor agreed, and they stood waiting, ready to accept their fate.

Just then, Dickens burst into the room. "Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas!" he urged. "Now fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What're yer doing?" the Doctor questioned.

"Turn it all on!" Dickens said, meddling with the gas lamps in the morgue. "Flood the place!"

"Brilliant." the Doctor realised. "Gas!"

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose questioned, not getting it.

"Am I correct, Doctor, these creatures are gaseous?" Dickens questioned.

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host." the Doctor explained to Rose "Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!"

"Charles Dickens, you're a genius!" Gazelle grinned.

The Gelth, realising what Dickens was up to, turned on him. "I hope... oh, Lord!" he blustered as the bodies advanced on him. "I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately."

Just then, Gazelle noticed a gas pipe on the wall behind them. She tapped the Doctor on the shoulder and pointed at it. "Plenty more!" the Doctor called to Dickens, then he and Gazelle wrenched the pipe from the wall, flooding the room with gas and the Gelth were sucked out of the bodies.

"It's working." Dickens sighed with relief.

With the bodies no longer a threat, the three time travellers were free to come out of the sluice area. "Gwyneth, send them back!" the Doctor ordered. "They lied, they're not angels."

"Liars?" the maid asked, coming out of her trance.

"Look at them." the Doctor told her. "If yer mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give yer the strength. Now send them back!"

By now, the gas was pouring into the room. The Time Lords were unaffected, and Dickens was using a handkerchief to filter out the worst of it, but Rose wasn't so lucky. "Can't breathe." she coughed.

"Charles, get her outta here." Gazelle instructed.

Dickens grabbed Rose's arm, but she shook him off. "I'm not leaving her!" she insisted.

"They're too strong." Gwyneth said weakly.

"Remember that world you saw? Rose's world? All those people, none of it will exist unless you send 'em back through the rift." the Doctor told her.

"I can't send them back." Gwyneth said firmly. "But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out." She reached into her apron pocket and produced a box of matches.

"You can't!" Rose wailed, and made to rush forward, but Gazelle held her back.

"Leave this place." Gwyneth insisted.

"Rose, get out." Gazelle instructed the blonde. "Go with Charles. The Doctor and I will get Gwyneth out. Now go."

Rose relented and Dickens ushered her out to safety, while the Doctor approached Gwyneth. "Come on, leave that to me." he said, holding his hand out for the matches.

Gwyneth just looked at him, unmoving.

~8~

Dickens and Rose hurried through the gas-filled funeral parlour. "This way!" Dickens urged, ushering Rose towards the front door.

~8~

A sudden realisation came across the two Time Lords. The Doctor checked Gwyneth's neck for a pulse, while Gazelle checked for one on her hand. Their fears were confirmed. "I'm sorry." the Doctor said sadly.

"Thank you for everything, Gwyneth." Gazelle added, fighting back tears.

The Doctor took her hand and they bolted out of the morgue. Gwyneth took a match out of the box, then waited for a few moments to give the Time Lords time to get clear, then she struck the match, igniting the gas.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle had made it outside in the nick of time and they dived for cover as the funeral parlour exploded in a ball of flames, taking Gwyneth and the Gelth with it. Rose and Dickens ran over from where they'd been taking cover across the street just as the Time Lords picked themselves up. Rose stared at them sadly, realising someone was missing. "She didn't make it." was all she could say.

"I'm sorry." the Doctor replied solemnly. "She closed the rift."

"At such a cost. The poor child." Dickens said sadly.

"We tried, Rose," Gazelle sniffled "but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least the last five minutes."

"What d'ya mean?" Rose asked.

"I think she was dead the minute she stood under that arch." the Doctor told her.

"But... she can't have." Rose stared. "She spoke to us, she helped us, saved us. How could she have done that?"

"'There are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'" Dickens quoted wisely. "Even for you, Doctor."

"She saved the world." Rose mused, gazing sadly at the burning building. "A servant girl. No one will ever know."

"We know." Gazelle murmured quietly. "And as long we always remember, then her sacrifice will never be forgotten." The Doctor put his arm around her shoulder and they led the way away from the scene of death and destruction.

~8~

Eventually, after wandering through the snow-covered streets, the quartet arrived in the alleyway where the TARDIS was waiting "Right then, Charlie-boy, we've just gotta go into our, um... shed. Won't be long." The Doctor said as he slipped his key into the lock.

"What're you gonna do now?" Rose asked Dickens.

"I shall take the mail train back to London." he replied. "Quite literally post haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing vital."

"Quite right, too." Gazelle smiled. "You've certanly cheered up."

"Exceedingly!" Dickens said enthusiastically. "This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All those huge and wonderful notions! I'm inspired. I must write about them!"

"D'ya think that's wise?" Rose questioned.

"I shall be subtle at first." Dickens replied. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!"

"Good luck with it. Nice to meet yer." the Doctor said, shaking the famous author's hand "Fantastic." he turned back to the TARDIS door.

"It's been an honour, Charles." Gazelle said, also shaking Dickens' hand.

"Bye, then." Rose said. "And, thanks." And she kissed him on the cheek.

"Oh, my dear, how modern." Dickens blushed. "Thank you, but, I don't understand, in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"You'll see. In the shed." the Doctor replied, opening the TARDIS door just a crack.

"Oh, my soul, Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you." Dickens commented. "But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this: who exactly are you?"

"Just a friend. Passing through." the Doctor answered.

"But you and Miss Gazelle have such knowledge of future times." Dickens pointed out. "I don't wish to impose on you both, but I must ask you both. My books, do they last?"

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor beamed.

"For how long?"

"Forever." Gazelle reassured him.

Dickens was pleased with this news, but did his best to look modest

"Right, shed. C'mon, ladies." the Doctor said to the women.

"In, in the box?" Dickens asked in disbelief. "All three of you?" he raised a brow at the implication of the Doctor squeezing into a small box with two beautiful young women.

"Down boy." the Doctor scolded. "See yer." And he went inside the TARDIS, the women following.

Once they were inside the box, the Time Lords went to the console and got ready for departure. "Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" Rose asked as she joined them.

"In a weeks time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies." the Doctor replied. "Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story."

"Oh, no. He was so nice." Rose sighed.

"But in your time, he was already dead." the Doctor reminded her. "We've brought him back to life. He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy."

They all looked at the monitor, where they could see Dickens still standing outside. "Let's give him one last surprise." Gazelle suggested, and the Doctor nodded his agreement.

The Time Lords fussed about the console, setting the TARDIS into motion. On the monitor, they could see Dickens goggle in surprise as the TARDIS disappeared before his eyes, then he laughed and walked away in good spirits.

~8~

A little later, the Doctor had retreated to the room with the model railway layout. He was busy running several trains when Gazelle walked in, having changed out of her dress and into a dark grey t-shirt and her usual black jeans and boots. "Ah, though I'd find ya here." she said. "Playing trains again?"

"Yer know me, Remii." the Doctor shrugged. "Yer know, I've always wanted to drive a real steam locomotive, and even though I've got a time machine, I never seem to get round it. Funny thing that."

"Yeah, I know what ya mean." Gazelle replied. "I've always wanted to visit the leisure planet on Midnight, but I've never got round to it either. Guess it's just our lifestyle."

"Maybe we'll do both things one day." the Doctor mused. "Who knows?"

"Maybe." Gazelle shrugged, then moved closer into the room to stand by the Doctor. "No use brooding, Theta." she told him "What's done is done and we can't change it."

"I know." the Doctor sighed. "Not exactly my finest hour, was it? I let the Gelth trick me an' two people lost their lives because ot it. Because of me."

"You didn't kill them, Theta. The Gelth did. And they were clever. They knew exactly how to manipulate people into helping them. They deceived Gwyneth into believing they were angels. They tricked you into thinking they were refugees, and they nearly had me believing them at times."

"But you didn't believe them."

"No, but I might've done had Sneed not told me about them killing that man. You made a mistake, Theta, a big mistake, but that's ok. No one is infallible, even us Time Lords. I've made mistakes too. We all do. It's the only way we learn."

"Well said, Remii." the Doctor smiled. "I'm glad yer with me. I dunno what I'd do without you sometimes."

"Ditto." Gazelle replied.

"I mean it, by the way." the Doctor continued. "When I said yer looked beautiful, I meant it."

Gazelle blushed. "Thanks. That's the first time I've worn a dress since before the Time War. Never really been a dress person. Gimme a good pair of trousers any day. But I might start dressing up more often if you do. There's some nice suits in that wardrobe that would suit ya."

"Not gonna happen." the Doctor retorted. "I'm not a suit person anymore."

"We'll see about that." Gazelle smirked. "But I'll say this; I can't believe you actually wore that horrible multi-coloured thing you've hanging up in there!"

"Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking back in those days." the Doctor muttered, embarrassed. "But I grew out of it."

"Well, I'm glad of that." Gazelle smiled. "I can't imagine this you wearing that thing! Anyway, since Rose is asleep, don't suppose there's room for another train driver here?

"Help yerself." the Doctor replied. And so, the two Time Lords settled down for a few hours of running trains and chatting to each other as good friends did.

Chapter Text

After leaving Cardiff, Rose began to feel tired, so the TARDIS obliged by providing her with a suitable bedroom so that she could retire. Eight hours later, a fully refreshed Rose returned to the console room to see Gazelle lounging on the jump seat and watching a 1980's music video on the monitor. "Ah, morning, Rose." the Time Lady greeted. "You sleep alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Rose replied. "What's that ya watching?"

"Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel." Gazelle replied. "I love this song. Ya just in time, actually, Rose. The best bit's coming up now, look."

Rose joined her by the monitor and watched as a pair of plasticine plucked chickens danced to the beat of the song. "Is it me or does that look a bit Wallace & Gromit-ish?" Rose observed.

"Yeah, it does." Gazelle agreed. "That's 'cos that bit was animated by Nick Park. We've met Nick a few times. We helped him out on The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. I wired up some of the sets, and Preston was the Doctor's idea."

"What was my idea?" a familiar Northern-accented voice asked, and both women turned to see the Doctor enter the room.

"Preston the cyber-dog." Gazelle told him.

"Ah. Yeah, it was." the Doctor confirmed, then turned to Rose. "Right then, Rose Tyler. Where'd yer wanna go today; past, present, future or alien planet?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Um, actually I was wandering if you could take me home." she told the Time Lords.

"Oh, right." Gazelle said slowly, trying to mask her disappointment at Rose wanted to leave, but she supposed she couldn't blame the Human after what had happened on Platform One and in Cardiff.

Rose realised what Gazelle was thinking. "No, no, no, no. Not like that." she explained. "I just wanna pop in and see mum, grab some stuff, and we can be off again."

"Why d'yer need to get stuff for?" the Doctor questioned. "The wardrobe's got all the clothes you could want."

"Yeah, but those clothes ain't mine." Rose clarified. "And I wanna see mum."

"Fair enough." the Doctor conceded. "London, 2005, it is." And he and Gazelle set to work piloting the TARDIS.

~8~

The TARDIS materialised on the Powell Estate. Rose stepped out first, followed by the two Time Lords. It was surreal for Rose to be back home after visiting a space station five billion years in the future and then 19th century Cardiff. "How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"About 12 hours." the Doctor replied, leaning against the TARDIS with his arms folded.

"Oooh! Right, I won't be long, I'm just gonna see my mum."

"What're you gonna tell her?" Gazelle asked out of curiosity.

"I dunno. That I met two aliens and they took me to the year five billion and then we met Charles Dickens and only been gone, what, 12 hours?" Rose laughed, and the trio shared a laugh. "Nah, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See ya later." She turned and began to walk away towards Bucknall House, then paused and turned back to the Time Lords. "Oi, don't you two disappear!" she warned.

"We won't. We're in no hurry." Gazelle assured her, and Rose ran off in the direction of her flat, leaving the two Time Lords by themselves. "Right. While we're waiting, I'm just gonna get something from that shop I went to last time we were here." Gazelle said to the Doctor. "You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks." the Doctor replied.

"Right. Back in a mo." Gazelle said, and began to walk away towards the shops on the estate. Halfway there, her attention was caught by something taped to a lamppost, so she went over to look closer and her eyes widened.

~8~

Rose climbed the stairs, walked across the landing and entered the Tyler flat. "I'm back!" she called. "It was Shareen. She was all upset again. Are ya in?" She entered the living room just as Jackie came in from the kitchen. "So, what's been going on?" Rose asked her. "How've you been?" Jackie could only stare at her daughter in disbelief. "What? What's that face for?" Rose asked, puzzled as to why her mother was surprised to see her. "It's not the first time I've stayed out all night."

Jackie abruptly dropped her tea cup in shock.

~8~

"Doctor, you need to see this." Gazelle called worriedly. The Doctor came over and saw what had caught Gazelle's attention. It was a missing person's poster with a picture of Rose on it. According to the poster, she'd been missing since March 6th 2005. The Doctor quickly checked the newspapers in the window of the post office. Today's date was Match 6th 2006. He and Gazelle shared identical looks of horror, then bolted towards Bucknall House, hoping to catch Rose before it was too late.

But, of course, it was already too late.

~8~

"It's you." Jackie breathed.

"Of course it's me." Rose frowned, wandering what was wrong.

"Oh, my God. It's you." Jackie said tearily. "Oh, my God." And she promptly threw her arms around her surprised daughter. Rose peered over her mother's shoulder and saw missing posters with photos of herself on them scattered over the table.

At that moment, the Doctor and Gazelle came crashing in. "It's not 12 hours, it's er... 12 months." the Doctor said sheepishly. "You've been gone a whole year. Sorry." he chuckled apologetically, while the Tylers could only stare at him, stunned, and Gazelle slumped her shoulders worriedly. This was going to take some explaining.

~8~

Half an hour later, the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose were stuck in the flat listening to a furious Jackie rant and rave. She'd called the police, but the poor officer that had been sent couldn't get a word in edgeways. "The hours I've sat here." Jackie burst out, giving Rose all she'd got. "Days and weeks and months on my own. I thought you were dead. And where were you? Travelling! What the hell does that mean? Travelling? That's no sort of answer." She turned to the policeman. "You ask her. She won't tell me! That's all she says. Travelling."

"That's what I was doing." Rose said, trying to keep the situation under control.

"With ya passport still in the drawer?!" Jackie challenged. "It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone." Rose said. "I really did, I just... forgot."

"What, for a year?!" Jackie retorted, "You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here! I don't believe you. Why won't ya tell me where you've been?"

"Actually, it's my fault." the Doctor spoke up. "I sort of, er, employed Rose as my companion."

"When you say 'Companion', is this a sexual relationship?" the policeman questioned, finally able to get a word in.

"No!" the three time travellers said hastily in unison.

"Then what is it?!" Jackie demanded, advancing dangerously on the Doctor. "'Cos you, you waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! How old are ya, then? 40, 45? I can see you like 'em young!" she sneered, casting a look at Gazelle, who wisely stayed silent. What, you find ;em on the internet?" Jackie continued to accuse the Doctor. "Did ya go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a doctor!" the Doctor protested.

"Prove it!" Jackie spat. "Stitch this, mate!" and she promptly slapped the Doctor hard across the face. The Doctor groaned loudly, while Gazelle grimaced and Rose cringed. Jackie then stormed off to the kitchen to cool off. With her gone, Rose was able to convince the policeman that nothing untoward had happened to her. He seemed to accept it and left. The Time Lords then left too, both agreeing that it would be best to let the Tylers sort things out for themselves.

~8~

Rose and Jackie were soon in the kitchen, hugging each other. "Did you think about me at all?" Jackie asked tearfully.

"I did!" Rose sniffled, feeling awful what she'd inadvertently put her mother through. "All the time! But..."

"One phone call. Just to know that you were alive!"

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"D'ya know what terrifies me, is that you still can't say. What happened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart? Where were you?"

Rose couldn't answer her.

~8~

After Jackie had calmed down, Rose had a shower and changed her clothes, then she went off to find the Time Lords. She found them on the roof of Bucknall House. "I can't tell her." Rose sighed as she plopped down on top of the water tank. "I can't even begin... she's never gonna forgive me. And I missed a year! Was it good?"

"Middling." the Doctor shrugged.

"You're so useless." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Well, after all the trouble we've caused, are ya gonna stay here now?" Gazelle asked her tactfully.

"I dunno." Rose sighed. She really didn't want to abandon her mother again, but she didn't want to give up the time travelling yet either. "I can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us." the Doctor said firmly, that slap still resonating with him.

"No chance!" Rose laughed.

"I don't do families."

"She slapped you!" Rose sniggered, seeing the funny side of it now.

"900 years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother." the Doctor grumbled.

"Your face." Rose chortled.

"It hurt!" the Doctor whined, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Hey, could've been worse." Gazelle remarked. "She could've punched you. That would've hurt even more!"

The Doctor saw her point and so stopped whining about the slap. Then, what he'd said about years registered with Rose. "When you say 900 years..."

"That's my age." the Doctor confirmed.

"You're 900 years old?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"900 years." Rose mused. "My mum's right. That is one hell of an age gap." She turned to Gazelle. "And how old are you?" she asked.

"I'm 724." the Time Lady answered.

"Right." Rose said slowly, and hopped off the tank. "Every conversation with you two just goes mental." She walked over to the railings and looked out at the city centre skyline in the distance.

Gazelle's attention was suddenly caught by a strange noise coming from the sky. At first, she thought it was just a plane passing over, but then she realised that it didn't sound like any 21st century aircraft, so she looked around to try and find the source.

"There's no one else I can talk to." Rose continued. "I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and I'm the only person on planet earth who knows they exist."

"Not for much longer." Gazelle said suddenly. "Look!" The Doctor and Rose turned to see her pointing to the sky. They looked up just in time to see a large spaceship roar by overheard, belching black smoke from it's tail. The Time Lords quickly raced over to the edge of the roof and took out two pairs of binoculars from their jacket pockets to watch the ship descent towards Central London.

The stricken ship nearly crashed into the Thames near Tower Bridge, but pulled up just in time. It careened wildly over the city before turning near St. Paul's Cathedral and dived towards the river again. The ship sliced open the Westminster clock tower with it's starboard wing before finally ditching in the river with an almighty splash.

The Time Lords slowly lowered their binoculars; the Doctor grinning manically and Gazelle looking puzzled. Rose just stared open-mouthed at the smoke rising in the distance. "Oh, that's just not fair."

The Doctor laughed gleefully and grabbed both women's hands, then they raced off towards the action. They didn't get very far, for they soon saw that the military were cordoning off the streets and stopping traffic. "It's blocked off." the Doctor grumbled.

"We're miles from the centre." Rose added. "The city must be gridlocked. Whole of London must be closing off."

"I'm not surprised." Gazelle remarked. "That would be the sensible thing to do in this situation."

"I know. I can't believe we're here to see this!" the Doctor grinned. "This is fantastic!"

"Did either of you know this was gonna happen?" Rose asked.

"Nope." the Doctor replied cheerfully, while Gazelle shook her head.

"D'ya recognise the ship?" Rose tried.

"Nope." the Doctor repeated.

"'Friad not." Gazelle added.

"D'ya know why it crashed?" Rose continued.

"Haven't a clue." Gazelle replied, while the Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you two(!)" Rose huffed sarcastically.

"I bet you are." the Doctor said, oblivious to the sarcasm. "This is what we travel for, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go and see it!" Rose said. "Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS!"

"We'd better not." Gazelle told her. "We've just had one spaceship turn up in the middle of London. Last thing we wanna do is add another one."

"Yeah, but yours is like a big blue box. No one's gonna notice." Rose argued.

"You'd be surprised, an emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching." the Doctor told her. "Trust me, the TARDIS stays where she is."

Rose looked distinctly disgruntled. "So, history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes, we are." the Doctor confirmed.

"We could do what everybody else does." Rose suggested, causing the Doctor to look at her questioningly. "We could watch it on TV."

The Doctor looked as though this was a completely foreign concept to him. "Looks like we've got no choice." Gazelle said to him. "We can't get there on foot, we can't use the TARDIS, so telly it is."

~8~

The trio were soon back at the Tyler flat watching the news, with the Doctor sat in an armchair with the remote, Gazelle was crouched on the floor next to him and Rose was sat on the settee. The first news channel they tried was BBC News. "Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London." the newsreader announced. "Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."

The screen changed to show a reporter at Westminster Bridge. "The police urge the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."

The Doctor flipped over to an American news channel where Trinity Wells was doing a report. "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded."

The Doctor flipped back to BBC News. "The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship." Tom Hitchinson reported as the screen showed a dinghy heading for the crashed ship. "No one knows what they're going to find."

Back to the American channel. "The President will address the nation live from the White House," Trinity announced, "but the Secretary General has asked that people keep watching the skies."

Jackie entered the living room with a cup of tea for Rose. "I've got no choice." she complained to her friend Ru. "Either I make them welcome or I run the risk of never seeing her again!" And she and Ru then proceeded to babble on angrily to Rose, who wasn't paying any attention.

"Excuse me, don't wanna be rude, but we're trying to listen to this." Gazelle told them as the front doorbell rang.

Jackie just scowled at her and went to answer the front door.

Gazelle turned back to the telly, which the Doctor had flipped back to BBC News, which was now broadcasting from outside No 10 Downing Street. "... his current whereabouts." the newsreader said. "News is just coming in. We can go to Tom at the embankments."

The shot changed to show Tom Hitchinson. "They've found a body." he announced, getting the Doctor's interest. "It's unconfirmed but I'm being told that a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins."

Meanwhile, the flat had filled up with several of the estate's other residents, Jackie having invited them over. Jackie was now handing out beers to everyone. "Oh, guess who asked me out?" she asked rhetorically. "Billy Crewe."

The Doctor shook his head at the Human trivia and turned back to the news. "Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of non-terrestrial origin." the BBC newsreader said. "An extraordinary event is unfolding here live in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure U.N.I.T mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown."

The telly suddenly jumped through several channels before landing on Blue Peter, where Matt Baker was showing viewers how to make a spaceship cake. Gazelle looked round to see that a toddler had jumped on the Doctor's lap and hijacked the remote. She gave a small laugh and helped the Doctor retrieve the remote. "Come on, sunshine." she said to the little boy. "He needs to watch the boring adult stuff. I'll play with you if you like." And she led the boy away to keep him occupied.

The Doctor watched her solemnly. Gazelle had a wonderful way with children. She'd told the Doctor that she'd had a son back in the old days. Sadly, her son had been a victim of the Time War, and if that wasn't bad enough, an injury she'd sustained in the war had left her unable to conceive children anymore, so she could never have a child of her own ever again. He could still remember the day long ago when he'd performed a scan of her in the TARDIS' medical bay and had had to break the terrible news to her. It had broken her. Although she'd come to terms with this fact and put on a brave face nowadays, he knew that deep down, her condition upset her greatly.

Shaking those sad thoughts from his head, the Doctor changed the channel back to BBC News, where Tom Hitchinson had moved to outside a hospital. "We still don't know whether it's alive or dead." he reported. "Whitehall is denying everything. But the body is being brought here, Albion Hospital. The roads are closed off. It's the closest to the river."

The boy finished playing with Gazelle and scampered off back to his parents. The Time Lady watched him go with a wistful smile, then she re-joined the Doctor. The news showed a stern, rotund man in military uniform getting out of a police car. "I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital." Tom Hitchinson reported. "The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside these walls."

~8~

At Albion Hospital, General Asquith entered the mortuary, accompanied by armed soldiers. The body that had been recovered from the crashed ship was lying on the table and covered by a white sheet. "Let's have a look, then." he said to the medical examiner, a Dr Toshiko Sato from the Torchwood Institute. Tosh pulled the sheet back and Asquith's eyes widened at what he saw. "Good God. That's real? It's not a hoax or a dummy, or a...?"

Tosh shook her head. "I've x-rayed the skull. It's wired up inside like nothing I've ever seen before." she told Asquith. "No one could make this up."

"We've got experts being flown in." Asquith said. "Until they arrive... get that out of sight."

Tosh nodded and covered the body again. The body was then placed into a morgue storage unit and the General turned to leave. "Excuse me, sir." Tosh called after him. "I know it's a state of emergency and there's a lot of rumour flying around, but is it true, what they're saying? About the Prime Minister?"

Asquith didn't answer her. He just turned on his heel and left without a word.

~8~

At the Tyler flat, the Time Lords were still watching the news, which had shifted to outside 10 Downing Street. "Mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of the Prime Minister." Andrew Marr reported. "He's not been seen since the emergency began. The opposition are criticising his leadership. Hold on..." The camera turned to show a car pull up and a portly man in a suit got out and walked towards No 10. "Oh, that's Joseph Green, MP for Hartley Dale." Marr explained, "He's chairman of the parliamentary commission on the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionary. With respect, hardly the most important person right now."

~8~

At Downing Street, Joseph Green entered No. 10 and was met by a junior secretary. "Indra Ganesh. Junior secretary." he introduced himself. "I'll be your liaison."

"Where the hell is he?" Green questioned.

"f we could talk in private, sir." Indra said. "Follow me, upstairs."

Both men moved towards the stairs when they were approached by a woman. "Excuse me!" she called. "Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North." She showed them her I.D card.

"I'm sorry, can it wait?" Indra tried to wave her off.

"But I did have an appointment at 3:15." Harriet reminded.

"Yes. And a spaceship crashed in the middle of London." Indra retorted. "I think the schedule might have changed." And with that, he and Green made their way upstairs. You've heard about the alien body, sir?"

"Never mind that, where is he? Where's the Prime Minister?" Green said impatiently.

"No one knows, sir." Indra replied. "He's disappeared. I have to inform you with the city gridlocked and the Cabinet stranded, that makes you acting Prime Minister. With immediate effect."

"Oh, Lord." Green muttered. "Oh, hold on..." He broke wind rather loudly. "Pardon me... nervous stomach. Anyway..."

Indra and Green continued upstairs to the first floor and were met by a plump blonde woman and a portly man. "Margaret Blaine. She's with MI5." Indra introduced.

"There's no more information, sir." Margaret informed Green. "I personally escorted the Prime Minister from the cabinet room to his car." She indicated the other man. "This is Oliver Charles, transport liaison."

"The car's disappeared." Oliver reported. "There's no record of it, sir. It literally vanished."

"Right, er, inside, tell me everything." Green said, ushering them into the Cabinet room.

"Er, sir?" Indra called, and Green turned to him. "The emergency protocols. " Indra said handing Green a red briefcase. "Detailing the actions to be taken by the government of Great Britain in the event of an alien incursion."

"Right, good." Green nodded, then broke wind again. "Blimey! Pardon me." He took the case. "Get to work, eh?" He entered the Cabinet room after Margaret and Oliver and shut the door behind them. Green placed the case down on the long table and looked at the other two, then they all began to chuckle malevolently.

~8~

Night had fallen on London and the Time Lords had decided that they'd done enough sitting around and slipped out of the Tyler flat. They'd just stepped out of the front door when Rose emerged behind them. "And where'd you two think ya going?" she called.

"Nowhere." the Doctor replied innocently. "It's just a bit Human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where they can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"And I'm gonna go with him and keep him out of trouble." Gazelle added.

"Right, there's a spaceship on the Thames and you two are just 'wandering'." Rose raised a brow.

"Nothing to do with me." the Doctor assured her. "It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything! It's perfect!"

"So..."

"So maybe this it!" the Doctor grinned. "First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. We're not interfering 'cos yer've gotta handle this on yer own. That's when the Human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and made of clay! Now you can expand!"

"You don't need us for this, Rose." Gazelle said. "Spend some time with ya mother. She's missed you for an entire year." She and the Doctor turned and began to walk away.

"Promise ya won't disappear." Rose called after them.

The Doctor stopped and turned around, fishing in his jacket pocket. "Tell yer what..." he said as he produced a key on a chain, "TARDIS key." He handed Rose the key. "It's about time you had one. See yer later." And he turned on his heel and walked away with Gazelle.

Rose looked down at the key in her hand, closed her fist around it and walked back inside the flat, feeling distinctly chuffed.

~8~

"You realise she's gonna kill us if she finds out where we're really going." Gazelle commented as she and the Doctor walked down the stairs.

"Nah. We'll be back before she even realises we're gone." the Doctor shrugged as they reached the ground floor and walked out onto the plaza.

As they walked across the estate towards the TARDIS, they could see that a raucous party was in full swing in a third-floor flat, with a banner hanging over the balcony saying 'The aliens have landed', while another banner in one of the windows read 'Welcome to our world'.

A male partygoer spotted the two Time Lords and called down to Gazelle, "Oi, gorgeous! Come and join the party!"

Not knowing that the partygoer was referring to her, Gazelle ignored the call and continued to follow the Doctor.

~8~

Mickey Smith walked out onto the balcony of his flat to retrieve a pair of trainers that he'd been airing out. He suddenly saw a familiar blue police box standing on the plaza below, and two figures in leather jackets walking towards it. "Oh, my God!" he breathed. He promptly slipped his trainers on and hurried out of the flat.

~8~

The Time Lords entered the TARDIS and prepared for departure. "Right then, Albion Hospital." the Doctor announced, setting the coordinated. "Off we go!"

~8~

Mickey raced out of his block of flats just as the TARDIS began to dematerialise. "Oi, Doctor!" he yelled. "DOCTOR!" He sprinted towards the TARDIS and threw himself at the box, but seconds too late and ended up slamming into the corrugated iron shutters of the shop that the box had been parked in front of. He fell flat on his back from the impact, picked himself up and dusted himself off, looked around to see that no one had seen his pratfall, then walked away with as much dignity as he could muster.

~8~

As the TARDIS flew through the Time Vortex, the console began to smoke, so the Doctor whacked it several times with a mallet until the smoke stopped. The Doctor then kissed the mallet, much to Gazelle's amusement.

~8~

Indra Ganesh was working at his desk when Harriet Jones placed a steaming hot coffee cup beside him. "I bet no one's bought you a coffee." she said.

"Thank you." Indra nodded.

"Pleasure."

Harriet didn't leave and instead looked at Indra expectantly. "You still can't go in." he told her.

"Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan." Harriet chuckled.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just impossible." Indra said reasonably, standing up.

"Not even for two minutes?" Harriet tried. Indra shook his head. "I don't get many chance to walk these corridors." Harriet commented. "I'm hardly one of the babes, just a faithful back bencher. And I know we've had a brave new world land right on our doorstep, and that's wonderful. I think that's probably wonderful. Nevertheless, ordinary life keeps ticking away." She rifled through her handbag and produced a folder. "I need to enter this paper." Just then, Green, Margaret and Oliver emerged from the Cabinet room. "Mr Green, sir." Harriet rushed over to the acting Prime Minister. "I know you're busy, but could you put this on the next cabinet agenda?"

"What is it?" Green questioned.

"Cottage hospitals." Harriet answered, causing Green to look at Indra in bewilderment, who could only give him an apologetic and resigned wave of his hand. "I've worked out a system whereby cottage hospitals do not have to be excluded from centres of excellence." Harriet began to ramble. "You see, my mother's in the Flydale Infirmary. That's my constituency, tiny little place, you wouldn't know it, but to give me a chance to..."

"By all the saints, get some perspective, woman!" Green interrupted rudely. "I'm busy." And with that, he and the others left, all giving Harriet funny looks as they passed her.

Harriet was left alone holding her papers. She looked to make sure that no one was around, then slipped into the Cabinet room. She put her papers down on the table and was about to leave when she noticed the open emergency protocols case. Curiosity getting the better of her, she sat down and began to read the documents inside the case.

~8~

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor and Gazelle stepped outside to find themselves in a hospital storeroom. They made their way to the door and the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver. When he turned it on, it buzzed loudly. "Shh!" the Doctor scolded the device, causing Gazelle to raise a brow in amusement. The Doctor turned the screwdriver down to a lower setting and switched it on again, the buzzing much quieter this time. It had soon unlocked the door and the Time Lords stepped through to find themselves in a locker room full of off-duty soldiers.

Everyone just stood where they were for a moment, then the soldiers all leapt to their feet, grabbed their weapons and aimed them at the two intruders. The Doctor just smiled cheekily, while Gazelle facepalmed. It was just their luck to run straight into a group of armed soldiers.

Suddenly, a woman's scream sounded from nearby and the Doctor leapt into action. "Defence part delta! Come on, move, move!" he ordered, and ran off towards the source of the scream, Gazelle hot on his heels. The soldiers swiftly followed.

The Time Lords and soldiers ran through the corridors to the morgue where they found Tosh cowering on the floor in shock. "It's alive!" she cried.

The Doctor turned to the soldiers behind him. "Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."

Gazelle went over to Tosh. "You alright?" she asked, noticing that Tosh had a cut on her forehead.

"My God, it's still alive." Tosh blustered in shock.

The Doctor noticed that the soldiers were still standing there, watching. "Do it!" he barked, and the soldiers ran off to start searching the building.

"I swear it was dead." Tosh babbled as Gazelle tended to her forehead wound.

"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything." the Doctor fired off. "What does it look like?" Before Tosh could answer, a slight sound came from nearby. "It's still here." the Doctor realised. He beckoned another soldier into the room and began to search for the source of the sound. When he heard it again, he dropped to his knees and crawled to peer behind the desk. He saw the face of a pig peering back at him. "Hello!" he smiled.

The pig squealed in terror and ran across the room. The soldier readied his gun.

"Don't shoot!" the Doctor urged him and hurried after the pig. The pig ran along the corridor and one of the soldiers aimed his rifle at it. Before the Doctor could stop him, he fired. The Doctor was horrified. "What did yer do that for?!" he glared. "It was scared!" He knelt down to comfort the dying pig. "It was scared." he repeated, much softer this time.

~8~

In 10 Downing Street, Harriet was still reading the emergency protocols when she suddenly heard General Asquith's voice giving Joe Green a piece of his mind. "I've got the White House phoning me direct because Downing Street won't answer their calls! This is outrageous! We haven't even started the vaccination programme. This is appalling. The nations of the world are watching the United Kingdom!"

"Well, it has all been a bit of a shock." Green replied nonchalantly.

"This is the greatest crisis in modern history and you've done nothing!" Asquith accused. "Your behaviour has been shameful, sir. You're supposed to be in charge and we need positive leadership. The capital's ground to a halt." Harriet managed to hide in a cupboard just before Asquith, Green, Margaret and Oliver entered the Cabinet room. "Furthermore, we can only assume that the Prime Minister's disappearance is the direct result of hostile alien action." Asquith continued. "And what have you been doing? Nothing!"

"Sorry! Sorry. Uh... I thought I was Prime Minister now." Green retorted.

"Only by default."

"Aw, that's not fair!" Green said, sounding like a whiny child. "I've been having such fun."

Asquith looked outraged. "You think this is fun?!"

"It's a hoot, this job." Green sniggered.

"Honestly, it's super!" Margaret added.

Oliver suddenly broke wind loudly. "Oh, s'cuse me!" he tittered, then broke wind again. "Ohhh!" He, Green and Margaret all sniggered like immature children.

"What's going on here?" Asquith glared. "And where's the rest of the cabinet? Why haven't they been airlifted in?"

"Cancelled it." Green waved him off. "They'd only get in the way." He broke wind. "Oh, there I go." he chortled, then broke wind two more times.

Margaret then proceeded to break wind too. "Oh, and me!" she guffawed. "I'm shaking my booty!"

Asquith decided he'd had enough of these three giggling idiots. "Sir! Under section 5 of the emergency protocols, it is my duty to relieve you of command." Green stopped laughing and looked at the General darkly. "And by God, I'll put this country under marshal law if I have to." Asquith continued.

"Oh, I'm scared." Green retorted sarcastically. "I mean, that's hair raising. I mean, literally. Look!" He pulled aside his fringe to reveal a zip on his forehead. He unzipped it and a blue light shone from within his skull.

Bewildered, Asquith looked at Margaret and Oliver to see that they were unzipping their foreheads too. Harriet was watching all of this through a crack in the cupboard door. Her eyes widened in shock at what was happening before her. Then came some disgusting and horrifying noises from the other room and Harriet leant back against the cupboard wall in shock and horror.

~8~

At Albion Hospital, the pig's body had been brought back to the morgue so that the Time Lords and Tosh could examine it. Tosh's superior at Torchwood had told her that two people calling themselves 'the Doctor and Gazelle' were likely to turn up and had instructed her to give them full cooperation. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like." she admitted. "But you're saying it's an ordinary pig? From Earth?"

"More like a mermaid." the Doctor replied grimly. "Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat and gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on... then they strapped it in that ship and made it dive-bomb."

"It must've been terrified out of it's wits, the poor creature." Gazelle sighed. She'd been unable to save the pig as she'd been busy tending to Tosh when the pig ran out. "Someone took the poor animal and turned it into a joke."

"So it's a fake. A pretend. Like the mermaid." Tosh surmised. "But the technology augmenting its brain... it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that...?" She turned around to see that the Doctor and Gazelle had both disappeared. She ran out into the corridor to try and find them, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then she heard a strange wheezing and groaning noise and remembered that her superior had warned her that they were both likely to disappear with a noise like that, so she gave up trying to find them and went back to write up her report about all this.

~8~

By now, the living room of the Tyler flat was absolutely rammed. "Here's to the Martians!" Jackie said, raising her beer bottle in the air.

"The Martians!" everyone except Rose cheered. Rose couldn't share their levity. After the events of the last few days, she couldn't help but worry about what the Time Lords were up to. They'd been gone for nearly two hours now.

Silence suddenly fell in the flat when Mickey walked in and stared at Rose. The blonde promptly sat bolt upright at the sight of her boyfriend. "I was gonna come and see ya." she said quickly. She had planned to pop in on Mickey after seeing her mum, but it had slipped her mind after seeing the spaceship crash.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology." Ru commented.

"I'm sorry." Rose told Mickey sincerely.

"Not you." Ru told her, and looked at Jackie.

"It's not my fault!" Jackie huffed. "Be fair, what was I supposed to think?" She gave Mickey a look and went into the kitchen.

Rose and Mickey followed her and Mickey was soon giving his girlfriend a piece of his mind. "You disappear, who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times I was taken in for questioning, five times!" he fumed. "No evidence, course there couldn't be, could there? And then I get her." He pointed an accusing finger at Jackie, who just rolled her eyes. "Whispering round the estate, pointing the finger, stuff through my letter box, and all 'cos of you."

"I didn't think I'd be gone for so long." Rose sighed, feeling awful at this news.

"And I waited for you, Rose!" Mickey continued. "12 months. Waiting for you, the Doctor and that girl to come back."

"Hold on, you knew about the Doctor and that girl he was with?" Jackie spoke up. "Why didn't ya tell me?"

Mickey noticed someone trying to eavesdrop through the serving hatch, so he slammed it shut with a huff. "Yeah, yeah. Why not, Rose? Huh?" he sneered. "How could I tell her where ya went?"

"Tell me now." Jackie said, crossing her arms.

"I might as well 'cos you're stuck here." Mickey told Rose spitefully. "They've gone. Just now, that blue box thing just faded away."

"What d'ya mean?" Rose questioned.

"They've left you." Mickey sneered. "Some friends they turned out to be."

Rose just grabbed her jacket from the back of the door and hurried out of the flat, Mickey following smugly. Jackie stayed sitting down, looking frustrated.

~8~

Rose and Mickey were soon standing at the empty spot where the TARDIS had been. "They wouldn't just go, they promised me." Rose frowned.

"Oh, that Doctor's dumped you, Rose." Mickey scowled. "Sailed off into space with that girl of his. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

"But he would've said." Rose countered.

Just then, Jackie joined them. "What're you two chimps going on about?" she questioned. "What's going on? What's this Doctor done now?"

"Oh, he's vamoosed!" Mickey answered gleefully.

"He's not!" Rose snapped. "'Cos he gave me this!" She showed him the key the Doctor had given her. "They're my friends, Mickey. They wouldn't just swan off like that." Suddenly, the key started to glow and the familiar sound of the TARDIS' engines reached her ears. "I said so." Rose told Mickey triumphantly and turned to her mother. "Mum! Mum, go inside. Mum, don't just stand there, just go inside. Just, mum, go..."

But Jackie wasn't listening. She stared transfixed over her daughter's shoulder as the TARDIS appeared out of thin air right before her eyes. Mickey gestured to the box with a meaningful grunt, while Jackie could only stare in amazement. "How d'you do that then?" she gaped.

Rose looked at her wearily. She knew now that she would have to bite the bullet and tell her mother the truth about her travelling.

~8~

The Time Lords had been quiet during their flight back from Albion Hospital. They had been hoping that going there would give them some answers, but it had just left them with more questions. Something very strange was going on. They were both looking thoughtfully at the monitor when the door opened and a worried-looking Rose entered the box. "Alright, so I lied." the Doctor said, his back to her. "We went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake. I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben, come on. So I thought, 'Let's go and have a look...'"

"My mum's here." Rose said, and the Time Lords turned around to see a shell-shocked Jackie and a very irate Mickey enter the TARDIS.

"Oh, that's just what I need." the Doctor huffed. "Don't you dare make this place domestic." He pointed a warning finger at Rose.

"You two ruined my life." Mickey accused the Time Lords. "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you!"

Gazelle hung her head at this news, feeling extremely guilty. The Doctor on the other hand didn't care a bit. "See what I mean?" he said smoothly to Rose, "Domestic."

"I bet you don't even remember my name!" Mickey fumed, taking a few steps closer to the uncaring Time Lord.

"Ricky." the Doctor waved him off, turning back to the monitor screen.

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky."

"I think I know my own name!" Mickey glowered.

"You think you know yer own name?" the Doctor snarked. "How stupid are you?"

"Enough!" Gazelle cut in. "Doctor, leave him alone." She turned to Mickey. "I'm very sorry, Mickey, truly I am. We didn't mean to ruin ya life. We tried to get Rose back in 12 hours, really, we did, but we made a mistake somewhere and overshot. We're sorry."

Jackie meanwhile had been looking around the TARDIS in complete bewilderment. Overwhelmed by what she was seeing, she turned on her heel and ran out of the box. "Mum, don't!" Rose called after her. "Don't go anywhere." she told the Time Lords. "Don't start a fight!" she told Mickey, and pursued her mother out of the doors. "Mum, it's not like that!" she called after Jackie, who was already running back up the stairs of Bucknall House. "They're not... I'll be up in a minute, hold on!" She went back inside the TARDIS and joined the Doctor and Gazelle by the monitor. "That was a real spaceship?" she questioned.

"Yep." the Doctor nodded.

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it then, are they invading?"

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert." Mickey commented from behind them.

"That's a good point, Mickey." Gazelle nodded. "What're they up to?" she wandered.

~8~

Jackie sat on her bed, feeling helpless and frustrated. Her whole world was crashing down around her. Her own daughter had vanished for an entire year, only to turn up again and reveal that she'd been travelling around with a pair of aliens who looked Human, but had a police box that was bigger on the inside and could travel through time, and apparently, it had only been a couple of days since the Henriks explosion for her.

Jackie's anxiety wasn't helped by the latest news report on the telly beside her bed. "There have been at least three reports of public assaults on people publicly identified as aliens." the newsreader reported. "And now back to Tom Hitchinson."

The screen changed to show Tom Hitchinson. "Are there more ships to come? What is their intention?" he asked rhetorically. "The authorities are now asking if anyone knows anything. If any previous sighting has been made, then call this number." A number flashed up on the screen and Jackie reached for the phone. "We need your help."

Jackie dialled the number on screen. The line was engaged on her first two attempts, but she got through on the third attempt. "Yes! I've seen two!" she said breathlessly. "I really have, two aliens. And she's with 'em! My daughter, she's with them. And she's not safe. Oh, my God... she's not safe." She took a calming breath. "I've seen two aliens. One's called 'the Doctor' and the other one calls herself 'Gazelle' or something like that. They've got a box. A blue box. My daughter called it a 'TARDIS'."

~8~

Inside the TARDIS, Mickey peered down curiously at Gazelle, who was lying underneath the console, working on some wiring, her sonic screwdriver clamped between her teeth. "So, what's she doing down there?" Mickey asked the Doctor, who was fiddling with the monitor.

"Ricky..." the Doctor grunted.

"Mickey." the young man huffed, growing irritated at the Doctor deliberately getting his name wrong.

"Ricky." the Doctor persisted. "If I was to tell you what we were doing to the controls of our frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

Mickey was about to answer when Gazelle removed her sonic screwdriver from her mouth and spoke up. "Don't answer that, Mickey." she advised. "He'll only use it as an excuse to be rude to you again. Now, in answer to your question, we're trying to patch the TARDIS into Earth's radar so that we can find out where that ship came from."

Mickey seemed satisfied with that explanation and crossed over to join Rose. "Interesting friends you've got." he commented. He didn't trust the Doctor at all, but hadn't formed an opinion on Gazelle yet. At least she seemed more amicable.

"Sorry about him, Mickey." Rose replied. "He's just winding you up." She took a breath, seeing that Mickey was still very annoyed. "I am sorry."

"It's ok." Mickey waved her off.

"I am, though." Rose told him earnestly.

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for a blue box for a whole year."

"It's only been a few days for me. I don't know, it's... hard to tell inside this thing, but I swear it's just a few days since I left ya."

"Not enough time to miss me, then?"

"I did miss you." Rose smiled.

"I missed you." Mickey said sincerely.

"So, erm, in 12 months, have ya been seeing anyone else?"

"No."

"'kay..."

"Mainly 'cos everyone thinks I murdered you."

"Right..."

"So... now that you've come back... are ya gonna stay?" Mickey asked.

Rose was saved from having to answer by the Doctor's voice, "Got it! Haha!" Gazelle climbed out of her workspace to join him by the monitor and the two Human came over too. "Patched in the radar, looped it back 12 hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here go... hold on." the Doctor said, giving the monitor a good whack. "Come on!" The monitor showed a graphic of Earth, with a line moving towards it. "That's the spaceship on it's way to Earth, see?" the Doctor explained to Rose, "Except... hold on." The line moved in a half-circle. "See? The spaceship did a slingshot round the Earth before it landed."

"Wos' that mean?" Rose questioned.

"It means it came from Earth in the first place." Gazelle replied. "It was launched from somewhere on Earth, went up, did a sling-shot, then came back down again. So, whoever these aliens are, they haven't just arrived; they've already been here for a while."

"The question is, what've they been doing?" the Doctor asked rhetorically, certain that the answer couldn't be good news.

~8~

Inside the Cabinet room of No. 10 Downing Street, the alien that was previously inside Oliver Charles was finishing putting on the skin-suit of General Asquith. "What do you think?" he asked the others. "How's the compression? I think I've got too much ballast round the middle.." He broke wind. "Ah, that's better."

Hiding inside the cupboard, Harriet's eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"We've really got to fix the gas exchange." Margaret said. "It's getting ridiculous."

"I don't know, it seems very human to me." Green shrugged. "Ah, better get rid of his skin..."

Asquith picked up the empty skin-suit of Oliver. "Shame! I quite enjoyed being Oliver. He had a wife, a mistress, and a young farmer." He made for the cupboard where Harriet was hiding. She retreated further to the back and hid out of sight as Asquith opened the door and tossed the skin-suit into the cupboard. "God, I was busy." he sniggered as he shut the cupboard door and turned to the others.

"Back to work." Green said as they made for the door.

"I have an army to command." Asquith chimed in.

"Careful now, we're not there yet." Margaret said as they all left the room.

Now alone, Harriet picked up the discarded skin-suit and examined it.

~8~

Green, Asquith and Margaret were making their way down the corridor outside the Cabinet room when Indra came rushing up to them. "General Asquith! Sir, we've had a priority alarm. It's code nine, confirmed code nine."

Harriet discreetly snuck out of the Cabinet room and overhead Indra.

"Code nine, huh?" Asquith questioned. "Which would mean...?"

Indra was a bit confused as to why the General didn't know this, but he explained nonetheless. "Well, in the event of the emergency protocols being activated, we've got software that automatically searches all communications for key words. And one of those words is 'Doctor'. I think we've found him, sir."

"What sort of Doctor? Who is he?" Margaret questioned.

"Well, evidently he's some sort of expert in extra-terrestrial affairs, the ultimate expert! And there's a women who's with him sometimes, calls herself 'Gazelle' She's a code nine too. We need them, sir. We need them right now!"

~8~

The Doctor was busy flipping through news channels on the TARDIS monitor, hoping to get some more information on what was going on. "How many channels d'ya get?" Mickey asked out of curiosity.

"All the basic packages." the Doctor replied.

"You get sports channels?"

"Yes, we get the football." the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I like watching the F1." Gazelle told Mickey. "And before you ask, yes, we get the movie channels too."

"Hold on, I know that lot." the Doctor said, pointing to the screen, which was showing a group of people in black uniforms with red berets entering 10 Downing Street.

"It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists." the newsreader said. "Those people who have devoted their lives to studying space."

"U.N.I.T; United Nations Intelligence Taskforce." the Doctor observed. "Good people."

"How d'you know 'em?" Rose asked.

"'Cos he's worked for 'em." Mickey spoke up, beating the Doctor to the punch, "Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for 12 months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the internet and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead." he finished bitterly.

The Doctor seemed unfazed by the accusation. "That's nice. Good boy, Ricky." he said patronisingly.

"Couldn't find anything on you." Mickey said to Gazelle.

"That's because I like to keep a low profile." she replied. "And for your information, it's not always the Doctor's fault that people die. He's a good man who does his best to save lives, but we can't always save everyone." she finished glumly, the deaths of Gwyneth and Mr Sneed still resonating with her.

"If ya know 'em, why don't you go and help 'em?" Rose asked the Doctor, wisely changing the subject from the touchy topic of death

"They wouldn't recognise me." the Doctor told her. "I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there, and fake aliens. We wanna keep these aliens..." he gestured between himself and Gazelle, "out of the mix. We're going undercover, and, eh, better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky! You've got a car, you can do some driving."

"Where to?" Mickey scowled.

"The crash site." Gazelle told him as she and the Doctor headed for the doors. "The roads should've cleared by now. We can get a better look at that ship."

The quartet stepped out of the TARDIS to find themselves surrounded by armed police and a helicopter hovering overhead. Mickey promptly made a run for it and hid behind some bins. Jackie ran out of the flats and tried to get to Rose but the police restrained her. "Raise your hands above your heads." an officer aboard the helicopter ordered. "You are under arrest."

The Doctor and the women obeyed. "Take me to yer leader." the Doctor grinned. Rose could only look at him as if he'd gone mad, while Gazelle rolled her eyes at him.

~8~

The trio were escorted to an unmarked black car and instructed to sit in the back seat. The Doctor got in first, then Gazelle and finally Rose. "This is a bit posh." Rose remarked as the car drove off, "If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I'd have done it years ago."

"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted." the Doctor told her.

"Where to?" Rose asked.

"Where'd yer think? Downing Street." the Doctor replied.

"You're kidding." Rose stared.

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?"

"The one and only." Gazelle confirmed.

"Oh, my God! We're going to 10 Downing Street!" Rose laughed with glee. "How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right." the Doctor said, "Over the years, I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."

"Now they need ya?"

"Like it said on the news, they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" the Doctor asked, puffing his chest out arrogantly.

"Patrick Moore?" Rose teased.

"Apart from him!" the Doctor grumbled.

"Serves ya right for boasting." Gazelle sniggered.

"Ah, don't ya just love it?" Rose giggled

"I'm telling yer, Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table." the Doctor reminisced. "Who's Prime Minister now?"

"How should I know? I missed a year." Rose replied.

Presently, the car the car arrived at Downing Street, where hundreds of police and paparazzi were waiting. The Doctor got out of the car and waved at them all, grinning manically and clearly relishing the attention. Gazelle meanwhile slipped on a pair of sunglasses and hurried inside No. 10, keen to avoid attention, while Rose looked around, smiling nervously at all the attention they were getting.

~8~

Back at the Powell Estate, Jackie was in her living room, talking to three police officers. "So, she's alright then?" she asked. "She's not in any trouble?"

"Well, all I can say is, your daughter and her 'companion' might be in a position to help the country." Police Commissioner Strickland told her. "We'll need to know how she met this man and woman, if they are a man and woman." He sat down with a loud grumble from his large belly. "Oh! Right, off you go, then." he told the two officers who had accompanied him. "I need to talk to Mrs Tyler on my own, thank you."

The two junior officers left the flat, obeying their superior's orders and blissfully unaware that Strickland had ulterior motives.

~8~

Harriet Jones slipped inconspicuously down the stairs of 10 Downing Street and approached the reception room where the experts were gathers. "Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North." she showed her I.D card to the armed policeman standing guard, who let her pass and she mingled amongst the people.

Soon, Indra Ganesh entered. "Ladies and gentlemen, could we convene?" he announced. "Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, I.D cards are to be worn at all times." He then approached the Time Lords and gave them two I.D cards. "Here's your ID cards. I'm sorry, your companion doesn't have clearance."

"We don't go anywhere without her." the Doctor told him as he and Gazelle looped the lanyards around their necks.

"You're the code nines, not her." Indra said.

"Why have I got clearance?" Gazelle questioned. "The Doctor's the expert, not me." She could understand the Doctor being called in; he'd been a frequent visitor to Earth during his many centuries of time travel, but she'd only started visiting Earth in the last 50 years of her lifetime and thought that she'd kept a low enough profile to avoid attention.

"Is your name Gazelle?" Indra asked her.

"Yes."

"You have glowing references from Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill themselves." Indra told her, causing the Time Lady to raise a brow in surprise. She'd met Churchill once and they'd gotten on well enough, but she didn't think that he thought that highly of her, and she hadn't even met Queen Victoria yet, so she knew that it must be in her personal future and she'd have to wait and see what would happen to cause the Queen to give her glowing references. "But she'll have to stay outside." Indra continued, referring to Rose.

"She's staying with us." Gazelle said firmly. Under the present circumstances, she felt it was better for them all to stick together.

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there." Indra said. "I can't let her in there and that's a fact."

"It's alright, you two go." Rose said to the Time Lords, not wanting to cause any trouble.

"Are yer sure?" the Doctor asked her in concern.

"Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say." the blonde said.

Just then, Harriet appeared at Indra's shoulder. "Excuse me, are you the Doctor?" she asked the Time Lord

Before the Doctor could answer, a positively exasperated Indra spoke to her rudely, "Not now, we're busy. Can't you go home?"

"I just need a word in private." Harriet said reasonably, but Indra was having none of it

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it!" he snapped.

"And you say I'm rude." the Doctor remarked to Gazelle, who gave Indra a dirty look, not happy at his rude attitude.

Indra took Rose's arm and began to lead her away. "I'm going to have to leave you with security."

Harriet then stepped in. "It's alright. I'll look after her. " she offered. "Let me be of some use." She turned to Rose. "Walk with me. Just keep walking..." She led Rose past the security guards and into the hallway, while the Time Lords headed off into the meeting. "That's right. Don't look round." Harriet told Rose as they slipped out into the hall. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." she said as she showed Rose her I.D card.

~8~

Inside the conference room, the experts were sitting down in their seats. Joe Green and General Asquith made their way to the front. The Doctor and Gazelle entered last and took seats at the back of the room, then began reading the booklets they found on the chairs very quickly. The booklets told him pretty much everything that they already knew, but there was one detail that caught their attention.

~8~

Outside in the corridor, Harriet was talking to Rose. "These friends of yours... they're experts, is that right?" she asked. "They know about aliens?"

"Why d'ya wanna know?" Rose asked, a little suspicious.

Harriet suddenly broke down in tears. Rose took her in her arms awkwardly in an attempt to comfort her.

~8~

In the conference room, Asquith began the meeting, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention, please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant..."

"Now, the really interesting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under 'any other business.'" the Doctor interrupted, deciding not to waste time and get to the point. "The North Sea, a satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at 100 fathoms like there's something down there." He stood up and walked down the centre aisle to address everyone. "You were about to investigate an' the next thing yer know, this happens. Spaceships, pigs, massive diversion. From what?"

Green and Asquith shared a look, which went unnoticed by the Doctor as he had his back to them, unnoticed by Gazelle as she was reading through her booklet again, and unnoticed by the Human experts as they were all looking at the Doctor.

~8~

Meanwhile, Harriet had taken Rose upstairs to the Cabinet Room and showed her the skin-suit of Oliver Charles. "They turned the body into a suit!" Harriet cried. "A disguise for the thing inside!" And she burst into tears again.

"It's alright!" Rose soothed. "I believe ya. It's... it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this... if we could find it, we could use it." She began rummaging around the room. She opened another cupboard and another body fell out, only this one wasn't a skin-suit, but a body that still had all it's internal organs. "Oh, my God!" Rose gasped as she and Harriet examined it. "Is that...?"

Just then, Indra entered the room. "Harriet for God's sake!" he grumbled. "This has gone beyond a joke, you cannot just wander..." Then he saw the body on the floor. "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"

~8~

In the conference room, the Doctor was still lecturing the experts, Green and Asquith. "If aliens fake aliens an' an alien plot what do they get?" he pondered.

Gazelle suddenly looked up from her booklet, her eyes wide as she worked it out. "You." she breathed, standing up to join the Doctor. "They get all of you." She gestured to all of the experts. "This isn't a diversion; it's a trap!"

~8~

Rose, Harriet and Indra were all staring at the Prime Minister's body when they were joined by Margaret Blaine. "Oh, has someone been naughty?" she smirked deviously.

~8~

Jackie went into her kitchen, still talking to Strickland. "It was bigger on the inside. I dunno, what do I know about spaceships?"

"That's what worries me." Strickland answered from the living room. "You see, this man is classified as 'trouble' Which means that anyone associated with him is trouble. And that's my job..." he removed his hat to reveal a zip on his forehead, just like Green, Margaret and Oliver, "...eliminating trouble." He began to pull the zip open, filling the room with a blue light.

~8~

"That's impossible." Indra blustered. "He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street, he was driven away!"

"And who told that, hmm?" Margaret crowed, walking over to the baffled secretary. "Me!" And she pulled her fringe aside to reveal her forehead zip.

~8~

"This is all about us." the Doctor stated, agreeing with Gazelle's realisation that it was a trap. "Alien experts, the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room." Joe Green suddenly broke wind loudly. The Doctor raised a brow, turned round and fixed Green with a pointed look. "Excuse me, d'yer mind not farting while I'm saving the world?" he chided.

"Would you rather silent but deadly?" Green smirked, and he and Asquith sniggered like immature children.

Both Time Lords could only look at them in complete bemusement. Considering what they'd just worked out, Green and Asquith both seemed far too laid back.

Asquith then stood up, removed his hat and undid a zip on his forehead, while Green laughed manically. Once the zip was opened, Asquith pulled his skin-suit down to reveal an enormous, hulking green-skinned alien with sharp claws and black eyes that blinked sideways. The Doctor, Gazelle and the experts could only stare, transfixed.

~8~

In the Cabinet room, Margaret removed her skin-suit, to the disgust and shock of Rose, Harriet and Indra.

~8~

Jackie was halfway through making a pot of tea when she saw the blue light coming from the living room. She tentatively approached the kitchen door to investigate.

~8~

Asquith finished shrugging off his skinsuit, while Green continued to cackle like a mad man as the Time Lords and the experts continued to stare in amazement.

~8~

Jackie stopped in her tracks in the kitchen doorway and her eyes widened in shock at the alien standing in her living room.

~8~

Margaret was now fully out of her skinsuit and stood before the astounded Humans.

~8~

Now fully unmasked, the alien that had been inside Asquith straightened up and addressed his audience. "We are the Slitheen." he rasped.

~8~

The alien that had been inside Margaret roared and grabbed Indra between her claws, pinning him against the wall. He cried out as the alien throttled him. Rose and Harriet were too shell-shocked to intervene.

~8~

The Slitheen that had been inside Strickland advanced on Jackie. The terrified Human screamed and backed against the counter, sinking against it as the Slitheen raised his massive claw, ready to strike.

~8~

Joe Green got to his feet. "Thank you all for wearing your I.D cards." he said as he took a device out of his pocket. "They'll help to identify the bodies." He pressed the button and everyone in the room was bathed in electrical energy.

The Doctor and Gazelle both fell to their knees in pain.

~8~

Margaret finished off Indra by snapping his neck like a toothpick. Rose and Harriet winced as his lifeless body crashed to the floor.

~8~

Jackie screamed as Strickland prepared to strike.

~8~

The Doctor groaned in pain and Gazelle screamed as their whole bodies convulsed from the electricity. Green looked on with savage pleasure, while Asquith laughed evilly.

To be continued...

Chapter Text

With a huge effort, the Doctor managed to yank his lanyard off and tossed it away, then he helped Gazelle get her lanyard off. Green and the Slitheen stopped laughing as the Time Lords staggered to their feet, the Doctor holding Gazelle's lanyard in his hand. "Deadly to Humans, maybe." he ground out, and plunged the lanyard into the Slitheen's chest, electrocuting both it and Green. Taking advantage of this, the Time Lords dashed to the door.

~8~

The Slitheen in the Cabinet Room was affected by the electricity too, causing her to drop Indra's body and convulse in pain. Seizing the opportunity to escape, Rose took Harriet's hand and led her to the door, the older woman whimpering in fright.

~8~

The Slitheen who was menacing Jackie in her kitchen was affected too. Jackie could only crouch on the floor in fright. Just then, Mickey entered the flat. "Jackie!" he yelled, grabbing a chair and rushing to the kitchen. He gave the Slitheen a good whack with the chair, knocking it aside and allowing him to grab Jackie's arm and pull her out of the kitchen. He paused in the doorway to take a picture of the convulsing Slitheen with his mobile phone camera. Mission accomplished, he grinned in satisfaction, then ran to join Jackie and lead her away to safety.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle raced into 10 Downing Street's reception, where armed police were on duty. "Oi! Yer want aliens, you've got 'em." the Doctor called to them. "They're inside Downing Street Come on!" He clapped his hands and led the way back to the conference room, Gazelle and the police officers hot on his heels.

~8~

Green managed to get the booby-trapped lanyard off the Slitheen and picked up the Asquith skin-suit. "Reinstate my disguise! Hurry up! Hurry! Hurry!" the Slitheen hollered.

~8~

Rose and Harriet ran along an upstairs corridor when Harriet suddenly screeched to a halt as she remembered something. "No, wait! They're still in there!" she said, "The emergency protocols, we need them!" She then began to run back towards the Cabinet room. Rose began to follow her, but they were soon forced to reconsider when the Margaret Slitheen came bursting out of the room.

The two Humans raced down the hallway, the Slitheen in close pursuit. Rose closed a door behind them in an attempt to slow down their pursuer, but the Slitheen simply demolished it as if it was made of paper and charged after the two women.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and armed police reached the conference room just seconds after the Asquith Slitheen had finished getting back into it's skin-suit. "Where've you been?" Green demanded to the officers as they started checking the experts' bodies for life signs. "I called for help, I sounded the alarm. There was this... lightning. This kind of er... um... electricity, and they all collapsed!"

The officers found no signs of life from the experts. "I think they're all dead." the commanding officer, Sergeant Price, informed everyone sadly.

"That's what I'm saying. They did it!" Green said, pointing an accusing finger at the Time Lords. "That man and woman there!"

"I think yer'll find the Prime Minister's an alien in disguise." the Doctor began, only to realise just how absurd that sounded. "That's never gonna work, is it?" he asked Gazelle lamely.

"No." the Time Lady shook her head.

"Fair enough." the Doctor said, and with that, he and Gazelle took to their heels and ran back out of the room. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far, for they ran into another group of officers right outside the room, who promptly backed them against the wall at gunpoint. The first group of officers came bursting out of the conference room and aimed their weapons at the Time Lords too. The Doctor simply raised his hands with a cheeky grin on his face, hiding Gazelle from view as she subtly hit the call lift button.

Green and Asquith pushed their way to the front of the crowd. "Under the jurisdiction of the emergency protocols, I authorise you to execute this man!" Asquith ordered, and the officers readied their weapons.

The Doctor was completely unfazed by his imminent execution. "Uh, well, now, yes. You see, eh... the thing is..." he chuckled, "if I was you, if I was gonna execute someone by backing 'em against the wall, between you and me, little word of advice..." The lift door dinged open and Gazelle quickly backed into it. "Don't stand 'em against the lift!" the Doctor finished, and backed in after her. Gazelle then used her sonic screwdriver on the control panel to close the doors before anyone could stop them.

~8~

The Margaret Slitheen was still chasing Rose and Harriet. Rose kneed a door in a desperate attempt to escape. Suddenly, the lift dinged open and the Slitheen turned to see the Doctor and Gazelle inside. "Hello!" the Doctor waved cheerfully, then Gazelle soniced the doors shut and the lift went up to the floor above.

Rose managed to get the door open and she and Harriet hurried through it to find themselves in a lounge. There was another door, so Rose tried to get it open, but it was locked, so she was unsuccessful. "Hide!" she urged Harriet, who took refuge behind a screen, while Rose herself hid behind a cabinet.

~8~

The lift arrived on the second floor and the Time Lords stepped out, then made their way to the stairs to head back and help their friend.

~8~

On the ground floor, Green, Asquith and security were still standing by the lift the Time Lords had escaped in. "I repeat, the upper floors are under quarantine." Asquith ordered security. "You will stay where you are. You will disregard all previous instructions. You will take your orders directly from me."

The lift returned and Green and Asquith stepped into it. "Mr. Green, sir, I'm sorry but you've got to come with me." Sergeant Price said. "We should evacuate the entire building."

"Sergeant, have you uh, read the Emergency Protocols?" Green asked him rhetorically.

"No, sir."

"Then don't question me." Green told him "Seal off No. 10, secure the ground floor, and if the Doctor and that girl make it downstairs, shoot on sight!"

The lift doors closed and Price turned to his men. "Well, you heard him! Move out!" he ordered, and they obeyed.

~8~

"Let the sport begin." Asquith crowed as he and Green rode the lift up to the first floor.

Green broke wind loudly. "I'm getting poisoned by the gas exchange." he moaned. "I need to be naked!"

"Rejoice in it!" Asquith encouraged. "Your body is... magnificent." And he and Green began to undo their forehead zips.

~8~

The Margaret Slitheen entered the room where Rose, Shareen and Harriet were hiding. "Oh, such fun!" she gurgled playfully. "Little Human children, where are you? Sweet little honeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better."

Rose bolted from behind the screen and hid behind the curtains, doing her best to keep quiet.

"Kiss you with my big, green lips." Margaret finished.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle ran down the stairs and reached the first floor. They heard the lift ding, so they hid either side of a doorframe and watched as Green and Asquith exited the lift, both now shed of their skin-suits. "It does us good to hunt. Purifies the blood." Green said as they passed the hiding Time Lords.

"We'll keep this floor quarantined as our last hunting ground before the final phase." Asquith said.

They Slitheen joined Margaret in the lounge. "My brothers." she greeted.

"Happy hunting?" Green asked.

"It's wonderful." Margaret replied. "The more you prolong it, the more they stink."

"Sweat and fear." Asquith observed.

"I can smell an old girl." Green sneered. "Stale perfume and brittle bones."

Behind the screen, an offended Harriet glared.

"And a ripe youngster." Margaret said, moving towards the curtains. "All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps." She swept the curtains aside to reveal Rose, who screamed in terror.

Harriet promptly jumped out of her hiding place. "No! Take me first! Take me!" she shouted.

Just then, the Doctor came crashing in with a fire extinguisher, Gazelle right behind him. The Doctor sprayed the two male Slitheen with a blast of carbon dioxide from the extinguisher, stunning them, while Gazelle ran over to Rose, pulled the curtains off the rail and threw them over Margaret, then she and Rose hurried back to the Doctor, Harriet joining them. "Who the hell are you?" the Doctor asked the MP.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North." Harriet replied.

"Nice to meet yer." the Doctor nodded

"Likewise." Harriet nodded back.

"Can we save the introductions till we're out of danger?" Gazelle urged, so the Doctor gave the Slitheen one last blast with the fire extinguisher, then the Time Lords and Humans ran for it.

"Now what?" Rose asked as they hurried through the corridors.

"We need to get to the Cabinet room." the Doctor answered.

"The emergency protocols are in there." Harriet said. "They give instructions on aliens."

"Hmm, Harriet Jones, I like you." Gazelle commented.

They reached the Cabinet room and the Doctor swiftly bypassed a locked door with his sonic screwdriver. The quartet hurried inside the room, then Gazelle shut the door behind them and locked it with her sonic screwdriver. They all rushed to the other door to find the three Slitheen charging towards them. Thinking quickly, the Doctor grabbed a decanter of port from the sideboard and held his sonic screwdriver to it. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability this alcohol." he warned the Slitheen. "Whoof! We all go up. So back off!"

The Slitheen took the hint and halted their advance.

"Right then, question time." the Doctor continued. "Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens." Harriet said rather obviously.

"Yes. We got that, thanks." the Doctor said flatly.

"Who are you two if not Human?" Green asked the Time Lords.

"Who's not Human?" Harriet asked Rose.

"They're not Human." the blonde replied, pointing to the Doctor and Gazelle.

"They're not Human?" Harriet blinked in surprise.

"Can we have a bit of hush?" the Doctor asked sternly.

"Sorry." Harriet said quietly.

The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen. "So, what's the plan?" he demanded.

Before the aliens could answer, Harriet interrupted again. "But he's got a Northern accent."

"Lots of planet have a north." Rose shrugged.

"Rose, Harriet, please!" Gazelle told them firmly, moving to stand beside the Doctor as he brandished the decanter threateningly.

"Come on!" he said to the Slitheen. "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered yer way to the top of government, what for? Invasion?"

"Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?" Asquith scoffed.

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here, so what is it?" the Doctor demanded.

"The Slitheen race?" Asquith snorted.

"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname." Green elaborated. "Jocrassa Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen at your service."

"So ya all family?" Gazelle quizzed.

"It's a family business." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch confirmed.

"Then yer out to make a profit." the Doctor worked out. "How can yer do that on a 'God-forsaken rock'?"

The Slitheen hesitated for a moment, then Asquith spoke, "Uh, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked innocently.

"You're making it up!" Asquith accused.

"Ah, well. Nice try." the Doctor shrugged. "Harriet, have a drink." He offered Harriet the decanter. "I think yer gonna need it."

"You pass it to the left first." Harriet told him, as her hands were full with a red case containing the emergency protocols.

"Sorry." the Doctor mumbled, passing the decanter to Rose.

"Thanks." Rose said dryly.

"Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter!" Asquith crowed, flexing his claws menacingly.

The Doctor just folded his arms nonchalantly, while Gazelle stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, both Time Lords standing their ground. "Don't ya think we should run?" Rose urged them.

"Fascinating history, Downing Street." the Doctor calmly told the Slitheen. "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied a Mr Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He tipped a wink to Gazelle, who lifted up a light switch to reveal a hidden button underneath. "End of lesson." the Doctor finished as Gazelle pressed the button. Steel shutters slammed down and barricaded all the doors and windows of the room. "Installed in 1991." the Doctor told the Humans, "Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?" Rose asked.

"Ah." was all the Doctor could say. He hadn't thought of that part yet.

"We'll think of something." Gazelle said. "At least we're alive, unlike those poor souls." She gestured to the bodies of Indra and the Prime Minister, which were still lying on the floor.

~8~

The three Slitheen outside the room weren't too bothered by their prey's escape. "They are safely contained." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch told his siblings. "Now, cut off communications inside that room, then summon the family, it's time we finished with this insane planet for good!" And they waddled away.

~8~

Jackie and Mickey emerged from a side door of Bucknall House and saw armed police swarming the plaza. Cautiously, Jackie and Mickey snuck past them and made for Mickey's block of flats.

~8~

Outside 10 Downing Street, Andrew Marr was reporting on the latest news as a group of black cars arrived. "And there's still no word from inside Downing Street, though we are getting even more new arrivals." He looked round as a rotund man in an RAF uniform got out of one of the cars. "That's group Captain Tennant James of the RAF, though why he's been summoned, I've no idea." A portly man in a suit left one of the other cars. "And that's ah... Ewan McAllister. Deputy Secretary for the Scottish Parliament. And this is most unusual!" A dumpy woman in a suit left the third car. "I'm told that is Sylvia Dillane, chairman of the North Sea Boating Club. Quite what connects these people, we have no idea."

~8~

Inside No. 10, Margaret, now back in her skin-suit, greeted the new arrivals. "Group Captain, delighted you could make it. We're meeting upstairs." Tennant James broke wind as he passed her. "That's the spirit. Off you go." Margaret shook McAllister's hand. "Good to see you!" She nodded pleasantly at Dillane. "Come on through!"

Sergeant Price was walking down the corridor when Asquith, also now back in his skin-suit, stopped him. "Ah! Sergeant, now that the Doctor's been neutralized, the upper levels are out of bounds, to everyone."

"Then who are they?" Price questioned, gesturing to the newcomers, who were making their way upstairs.

"Need to know." Asquith waved him off. "Now, Sergeant. I want you to liaise with communications, the acting Prime Minister will be making a public address. He will speak to the nations of the world." He walked off, leaving Price looking confused and bewildered.

Upstairs, Margaret led the newcomers into a room. "There you are, if you'd just like to go through and get changed." She ushered Dillane into the room and grabbed a coat hanger on her way to the other door, then grabbed a skin-suit that was handed to her from a Slitheen that was just leaving via that door. "Now, if you'd like to head down to the end corridor, it's first on the left."

"Thank you." the Slitheen acknowledged, and headed off down the corridor while Margaret hung the skin-suit up.

~8~

Jackie and Mickey had made it safely to Mickey's flat and were now in the kitchen, with Mickey making a cup to tea to calm Jackie's nerves. "Have ya got anything stronger?" she asked him.

"No chance, I've seen you when you've had a few, this ain't time for a conga." Mickey retorted.

"We've gotta tell someone." Jackie said, sitting down on a chair.

"Who do we trust?" Mickey countered. "For all we know, they've all got big bog monsters inside of them. I mean, this is what he does, Jax. Everywhere he goes, death and destruction, and he's got Rose in the middle of it."

"Have he and that girl got green things inside 'em, then?"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Mickey replied, taking some milk from the fridge. "Dunno about her. She seems alright. But like it or not, the Doctor's the only person who knows how to fight these things."

"I thought I was gonna die." Jackie breathed, and burst into tears.

Mickey gave her a quick hug. Although she had made his life a living hell for the past year, he could see that she was genuinely shaken up by her experience. "Come on, yeah? If anyone's gonna cry, it's gonna be me. Now, ya safe in my flat, Jax." he encouraged. "No one's gonna look for you here, especially since you hate me so much."

"You saved my life." Jackie realised. "God, that's embarrassing."

"You're telling me." Mickey commented, and they both laughed slightly.

Jackie sobered up again. "He wanted me dead. And he's still out there, Mickey. That policeman... that thing."

~8~

The Slitheen that had terrorised Jackie was now back in his Strickland skin-suit and standing on the estate, sniffing the air. "Right, you head off." he told his officers. "You're in full control, I've got one or two things that still need doing. I haven't quite finished with Mrs. Tyler yet." The other officers nodded and got in the car, while Strickland strode away with a malicious look on his face.

~8~

Margaret was finishing hanging up the skin-suits when Jocrassa Fel-Fotch arrived. "Is that all of us?" he asked.

"All the family except Sip Fel-Fotch." Margaret replied. "He's found a hunt of his own."

"Ah!" Jocrassa Fel-Fotch grinned, and walked away, deciding to let his sibling have his fun.

~8~

Rose and the Time Lords had debriefed each other on what had happened to each other and the Time Lords were now moving the bodies into the cupboard. "What was his name?" the Doctor asked as he moved Indra's body.

"Which one?" Harriet asked, reading through the emergency protocols.

"This one, the secretary or whatever he was called."

"I don't know." Harriet admitted regretfully. "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name."

"His name was Indra Ganesh." Gazelle said, reading Indra's I.D card on his lanyard. "He was a junior secretary."

The Doctor closed Indra's lifeless eyes. "Sorry." he said softly in respect for the deceased man.

"We're sorry we couldn't save you," Gazelle added gently, "but we'll find a way to stop the Slitheen from hurting anyone else, I promise." Then she and the Doctor re-entered the room.

"Right, what've we got?" the Doctor said as they took out their sonic screwdrivers and scanned the room to try and find anything useful. "Any terminals? Anything?"

"Nope, this place is antique." Rose replied. "What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"

"He was probably too slim." Gazelle replied. "The Slitheen are huge, so they can probably only body-snatch large Humans, like Green or the General."

"But the Slitheen are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside?"

"That's the device around their necks, compression field, literally shrinks 'em down a bit." the Doctor explained. "That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller." Rose joked.

Gazelle stopped scanning and turned to Rose with an 'are you for real?' look.

"Sorry." Rose shrugged. "You get used to this stuff when ya friends with them." She gestured to the Time Lords.

Gazelle frowned. She hoped that Rose wasn't starting to become blasé about the dangers of the life the Time Lords lived. She knew that complacency led to carelessness.

"Well, that's a strange friendship." Harriet remarked, turning back to the protocols.

The Doctor stopped his sonicing, something occurring to him. "Harriet Jones, I've heard that name before, Harriet Jones. Yer not famous for anything are you?" he asked Harriet.

"Huh! Hardly!" Harriet scoffed.

"Rings a bell, Harriet Jones..." the Doctor frowned, looking as if he was struggling to remember something.

"Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid." Harriet said. "And a fat lot of use I'm being now, the protocols are redundant. They list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs."

"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things?" Rose asked. "Can we just launch a nuclear bomb at 'em?"

That earned her more pointed looks from the other two women in the room. "You're a very violent young woman." Harriet commented.

"I'm serious! We could!" Rose persisted.

"Well, there's nothing like that in here." Harriet told her. "Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."

That caught the Doctor's attention. "Say that again."

"What, about the codes?"

"Anything. All of it."

"Um... well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN." Harriet explained.

""Like that's ever stopped 'em!" Rose scoffed.

"Exactly, given our past record." Harriet agreed. "And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. " She noticed the Doctor deep in thought. "Is it important?"

"Well, right now everything's important." Gazelle replied.

"If only we knew what the Slitheen wanted." Harriet mused. "Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal."

"What do they want, though?" Rose wandered.

"Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion." the Doctor pondered. "They don't want Slitheen world... They're out to make money, which means they want to use something, something here on Earth... some kind of asset."

"Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet suggested.

"Yer very good at this." the Doctor commented.

"Thank you." a pleased Harriet smiled.

"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?" the Doctor asked Gazelle, who could only shrug. She felt that she'd heard that name before too, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Suddenly, the sound of a mobile phone ringing filled the room. "Oh, that's me." Rose said, pulling her mobile out of her pocket.

"But we're sealed off, how did you get a signal?" Harriet asked.

"He zapped it, super-phone." Rose replied, checking her phone.

"Then we can phone for help." Harriet suggested to the Doctor. "You must have contacts."

"Dead downstairs, yeah." the Doctor said gloomily.

Rose looked at the message she'd just received. "It's Mickey." she said.

"Oh, tell yer stupid boyfriend we're busy." the Doctor huffed, earning himself a whack on the shoulder from Gazelle.

"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." Rose said, showing everyone a photo Mickey had sent her. It was the photo of the Slitheen in Jackie's kitchen.

~8~

Mickey walked into his bedroom, talking to Rose on his mobile. "No, no, no, no, no, not just alien, but like, proper alien. All stinking, and wet, and disgusting. And more to the point, it wanted to kill us!"

"I could've died!" Jackie added, poking her head through the doorway.

"Is she alright, though?" Rose asked. "Don't put her on, just tell me."

But before Mickey could answer, the Doctor's voice interrupted, "Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up and go to yer computer."

"It's Mickey." the person in question huffed. "And why should I?"

"Because we need you, Mickey." Gazelle's voice said. "Can you help us, please?"

Gazelle's more polite manner did the trick and Mickey was soon sat at his PC, looking at the U.N.I.T website. "It says 'Password'." he said into the phone.

~8~

"Say again." the Doctor said, putting Rose's phone on speakerphone.

"It's asking for the password."

"Buffalo, two I's, one F." the Doctor instructed.

~8~

Jackie entered Mickey's room with two cups of tea. "So, what's that website?" she asked.

Mickey finished typing in the password and turned to her while he waited for the webpage to load. "All the secret information known to mankind." he explained. "See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark.

~8~

"Mickey, you were born in the dark." the Doctor snorted, earning himself whacks on both shoulders; one from Gazelle, the other from Rose.

"Leave him alone." both women scolded.

"Thank you." Mickey said. "Password again."

"Just repeat it, every time." the Doctor told him.

"So, Big Ben; why did the Slitheen crash a ship right into Big Ben?" Gazelle thought aloud.

"You both said to gather the experts, to kill them." Harriet reminded.

"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, yer don't need to crash in the middle of London." the Doctor remarked.

"The Slitheen were hiding, and then they put the entire planet on red alert, what would they do that for?" Rose wandered.

"Oh, listen to HER!" Jackie scoffed.

"At least I'm trying!" Rose retorted.

"Well, I've got a question if ya don't mind." Jackie said sharply. "Because ever since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, an' my own daughter disappears off the face of the Earth!"

"I told you what happened." Rose tried to pacify her mother, but Jackie was having none of it

"I'm talking to him! 'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, and whatever ya girlfriend's name is. And maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this; is my daughter safe?"

"I'm fine." Rose insisted.

"Is she safe?" Jackie persisted. "Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?"

Neither the Doctor nor Gazelle could answer. If they were being honest, they couldn't guarantee Rose's safety. Indeed, although she'd only been on two trips with them so far, she'd nearly died both times.

~8~

"Well, what's the answer?" Jackie grumbled.

Just then, Mickey took his phone off her, interrupting the awkward moment. "We're in."

Let off the hook, the Doctor snapped back into action. "Right then, on the left, there's a tab, an icon, little concentric circles. Click on that."

Mickey did so and a strange noise sounded. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's the Slitheen." Gazelle replied. "They've got a ship hidden in the North Sea and it's transmitting a signal. We need to work out what it's saying."

~8~

The Time Lords leant in closer to Rose's phone to listen carefully. Rose noticed that they were both leaning rather close to each other, with Gazelle's long hair barely an inch from touching the Doctor's cheek.

~8~

"He'll have to answer me one day." Jackie commented to Mickey, who waved her off.

~8~

The Doctor narrowed his eyes as he listened to the signal. "It's some sorta message." he observed.

"What's it say?" Rose asked

"Dunno, it's on a loop, keeps repeating." the Doctor replied.

~8~

Suddenly, Mickey's doorbell rang. "Hush!" the Doctor scolded.

"That's not me." Mickey replied, and turned to Jackie. "Go and see who it is."

"It's three in the morning." Jackie pointed out.

Well, go and tell them that." Mickey rolled his eyes.

Jackie huffed and got up to answer the door.

~8~

The Time Lords were still focussing on the signal. "It's beaming into space." the Doctor observed. "Who's it for?"

~8~

Mickey's doorbell rang more persistently. "Alright!" Jackie grumbled as she went to answer it. She opened the door to reveal Strickland, or rather Sip Fel-Fotch the Slitheen, wearing a skin-suit of Strickland.

"Mrs Tyler." he grinned wickedly.

Jackie slammed the door shut and ran back to Mickey's room. "It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!" she squealed.

"They've found us!" Mickey hollered into the phone.

"Mickey, I need that signal." the Doctor said.

"Never mind the signal." Gazelle countered. "Mickey, Mrs Tyler, get outta there now!"

"Mum, just get out!" Rose urged. "Get out! Get out!"

"We can't, it's by the front door." Mickey said, picking up a cricket bat. Then he saw a blue glow coming through the door cracks and realised that Sip Fel-Fotch was shedding his skin-suit ready for the attack. "Oh, my God. It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us!"

~8~

"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet hollered. "You're supposed to be the experts, think of something!" she shrieked at the Time Lords.

"We're trying!" the Doctor replied, trying to rack his brains to think of something.

~8~

Jackie and Mickey heard worrying noises from the other side of the door. "I'll take it on, Jackie." Mickey said bravely. "You just run. Don't look back. Just run." He squared himself in front of the door, bat at the ready, as Sip Fel-Fotch began to batter the door.

~8~

The sound of splintering wood came over the phone. "That's my mother." Rose said worriedly.

Gazelle slammed her fist on the table. "Ok! If we're gonna find their weakness, we need to find out what planet they're from."

"Right." the Doctor agreed. "So, judging by their face and shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about 'em? Information?!" he urged the others. "They're green." Rose responded immediately

"Yep, narrows it down." the Doctor nodded

"Uh, good sense of smell."

"Narrows it down."

"They can smell adrenaline."

"Narrows it down."

"The compression technology." Harried piped in.

"Narrows it down."

"That ship on Thames had a slipstream drive engine and they hunt like it's a ritual." Gazelle fired off.

"Narrows it down." the Doctor nodded just as a crash sounded over the phone.

~8~

"It's getting in!" Mickey hollered as Sip Fel-Fotch punched a hole in the door.

~8~

"Wait a minute!" Harriet realised. "Did you noticed, when they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, uh..."

"Bad breath!" Rose agreed.

"Calcium decay!" the Doctor grinned, "Now that narrows it down!"

"We're getting there, mum." Rose said into the phone.

~8~

"Too late!" Mickey replied frantically, seeing that Sip Fel-Fotch had nearly made a hole big enough to get through.

~8~

"Calcium phosphate, organic calcium, living calcium, creatures made of living calcium. What else?" the Doctor said as he paced around the Cabinet room. "What else?"

"Oh! Hyphenated surname." Gazelle remembered.

"Yes!" the Doctor grinned. "Now that narrows it down to one planet!"

Both Time Lords' eyes lit up as realisation dawned on them. "Raxicoricofallapatorious!" they exclaimed together.

~8~

"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter." Mickey said sarcastically as Sip Fel-Fotch kicked what was left of the door in.

"Get in the kitchen!" Gazelle ordered him, and and Jackie and Mickey did so. They bolted into the kitchen and barred the door shut with a bin and a chair.

"My God, it's gonna rip us apart!" Jackie shrieked as they heard Sip Fel-Fotch throwing his weight against the door.

~8~

The Doctor racked his brains to think of a Raxicoricofallapatorian's weakness. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field, acetic acid. Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet cheered.

"Just like Hannibal." the Doctor confirmed. "Mickey, have yer got any vinegar?"

"How should I know?" Mickey grunted.

"It's your kitchen." the Doctor reminded.

"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf." Rose called.

~8~

"Oh, give it here." Jackie said, snatching the phone off Mickey. "What d'ya need?"

"Anything with vinegar in it." Gazelle told her.

Jackie grabbed a jug and began raiding Mickey's cupboards. "Gherkins! Yeah, pickled eggs." She poured them into the jug. "Pickled onions."

~8~

"You kiss this man?" the Doctor commented to Rose as they listened.

~8~

With an enormous crash, Sip Fel-Fotch demolished the kitchen door and advanced on Jackie and Mickey, roaring at his impending triumph. Jackie promptly chucked her vinegar cocktail all over him. Sip Fel-Fotch halted his advance and stood where he was for a moment, then he suddenly exploded in a burst of green goo which splattered everywhere.

Mickey slowly lowered his bat and wiped the goo from his mouth. "It worked. We're ok." he said into his phone.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Harriet all collectively let out the breaths they'd been holding. "Hannibal?" Rose asked Harriet.

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Harriet explained.

"Well, there ya are then, cheers." Rose said, raising a glass of port in a toast.

The others joined in with the toast and they all drank up. Gazelle promptly spat out her drink as she found the port not to her liking.

~8~

A solemn Asquith approached a shaken Jocrass Fel-Fotch. "He's dead." Asquith said. "Sip Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen is dead."

"I felt it." Jocrass Fel-Fotch replied sadly. "How could that happen?"

"Somebody must've got lucky." Asquith said bitterly.

"That's the last piece of luck anyone on this rock will ever have." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch spat angrily, and the two Slitheen went outside to address the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Nations of the World, Human Kind." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch began. "The greatest experts in extra-terrestrial events came here tonight. They gathered in the common cause. But the news I bring you now is grave indeed."

~8~

Mickey walked into his living room, wiping himself off with a towel. He saw Jocrassa Fel-Fotch's speech playing on his telly. "The experts are dead. murdered, right in front of me by alien hands. Peoples of the Earth, heed my words. These visitors do not come in peace."

"Listen to this." Mickey said into his phone, and held it against the telly so that Rose and the Time Lords could hear.

"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch announced.

~8~

"What?" the Doctor and Gazelle said in disbelief.

"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch continued. "We are facing extinction... Unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mothership. I beg the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes! A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only hope of survival. Because... from this moment on... it is my solemn duty to inform you... Planet Earth is at war."

Despite Jocrassa Fel-Fotch's great acting, neither Time Lord were fooled. "He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's not threat. He just invented it." the Doctor said as he paced around the table.

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.

"Why shouldn't they?" Gazelle answered grimly. "Green's the acting Prime Minister. The whole world's looking to him and he's got everyone wrapped around his finger."

"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle." the Doctor realised, the Slitheen's plan coming together now. "They want the whole panicking, 'cos you lot, yer get scared, you lash out."

"The UN releases the defence codes..." Gazelle added.

"And the Slitheen go nuclear." the Doctor finished grimly

"But why?" Harriet wandered

The Doctor released the shutters to see Margaret and two unmasked Slitheen standing by the door. "You get the codes, release the missiles," he said, "but not into space 'cos there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three, whole planet gets nuked."

"And we can sit through it in our ship on the Thames." Margaret said smugly. "Not crashed, just parked. Two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place." Harriet stared. "What for?"

"Profit." the Doctor answered darkly. "That's what the signal's beaming out into space, an advert."

"The sale of the century." Margaret said smugly, "We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chunks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of five billion lives." Gazelle growled, balling her fists in disgust at the Slitheen's atrocious plan.

"Bargain." Margaret jeered.

"Then I give you the choice: leave this planet or I'll stop you." the Doctor told the Slitheen in a low and dangerous voice.

The Slitheen all tittered at this. "What? You?" Margaret scoffed. "Trapped in your box."

The Doctor did not looked even remotely abashed and stared Margaret out. "Yes. Me." he said darkly, and closed the shutters.

~8~

As a new day dawned over London, the whole world was waiting on tenterhooks. Tom Hitchinson stood on Westminster Bridge, reporting the situation. "Yesterday saw the start of a brave new world. Today might see it end. The streets are deserted. Everyone's home... just waiting, as the future is decided in New York."

~8~

Jackie sat anxiously in Mickey's living room, watching AMTV. "It's midnight here in New York." Trinity Wells reported. "The United Nations has gathered. England has provided them with absolute proof that the massive weapons of mass destruction do exist. The security counsel will be making a resolution in a matter of minutes. And once the codes are released, humanity's first interplanetary war begins."

Mickey meanwhile was on his phone, trying to contact the authorities and warn them about the Slitheen's deception.

~8~

Inside 10 Downing Street, Margaret and General Asquith made their way upstairs while Jocrassa Fel-Fotch paused to talk to Sergeant Price. "Sergeant. We'll take the call in the Prime Minister's office. Maintain the oppositions. Good luck." They shook hands and the Slitheen joined his siblings upstairs, while the sergeant maintained his post.

Once the three Slitheen reached the privacy of the Prime Minister's office, they dropped the façade. "Oh, look at that! The telephone is actually red!" Margaret giggled.

Jocrassa Fel-Fotch sat down in the chair, breaking wind loudly as he did so. "How long 'til they phone?" he asked eagerly.

"Counting down." Asquith replied, barely able to contain his excitement.

~8~

In the Cabinet room, Rose was talking on the phone to Mickey, while the Doctor and Gazelle stood in a corner conversing in an alien language that neither Rose nor Harriet understood. The two Humans didn't know that the Time Lords were in fact discussing their options. They had one way out of their predicament, and it was a long shot.

"Alright, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be SOMETHING you can do." Jackie said over the phone.

"If we ferment the port, we could make acetic acid." Harriet suggested.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked.

"There's loads of emergency numbers, they're all on voicemail." Mickey replied gloomily.

"Voicemail dooms us all." Harriet commented.

"If we could just get out of here." Rose sighed, slumping down in a chair.

The Doctor spoke up at last, "There's a way out. There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked eagerly.

The Doctor strode over to the table and leaned over to speak into the phone. "Because we can't guarantee your daughter will be safe." he told Jackie.

"Don't you dare!" Jackie said immediately. "Whatever it is, don't you dare!"

"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies." the Doctor said earnestly.

"Do it." Rose said determinedly.

"You'd just let us?" Gazelle said, moving to stand beside the Doctor. "You don't even know what we're thinking and you'd just us?"

"Yeah." the blonde said firmly

"Please, Doctor, please!" Jackie pleaded, "She's my daughter, she's just a kid!"

"D'yer think I don't know that?" the Doctor replied, sounding sombre. "'Cos this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision 'cos no one else will."

Gazelle rubbed his shoulder in comfort. She knew about the Doctor's travels in the centuries before they'd met, and she knew about the innumerable difficult decisions he'd had to make.

The Doctor turned to her. "I could save the world, but lose you." he said gently.

Gazelle was surprised by the Doctor's admission. They were good friends, true, but the Doctor's tone implied that maybe there was something more. Then, she dismissed those thoughts and decided that the Doctor was just being protective because they were the last of their kind. "I'll be fine." she told him. "I don't care what happens to me as long as the planet's safe."

"Me too." Rose said bravely.

Harriet, who had stayed silent during the time travellers' little moment, then spoke up, authority in her voice, "Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine."

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie asked condescendingly

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen for the people, by the people." Harriet answered defiantly. "And on behalf of the people, I command you... Do it."

The Doctor grinned and got to work.

~8~

In the PM's office, the Slitheen were waiting eagerly for the call from the UN. Jocrassa Fel-Fotch suddenly got to his feet. "Victory should be naked!" he announced, and began to unzip his forehead, his siblings following suit.

~8~

Gazelle scanned the Cabinet room with her sonic screwdriver, while the Doctor rifled through the emergency protocols case to find the paperwork he needed. "How do we get out?" Rose asked him.

"We don't. We stay here." the Doctor answered, finding the paper he needed. "Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything." he instructed Mickey.

~8~

Mickey typed the relevant password into the computer in his bedroom. "What ya doing?" Jackie asked him.

"Hacking into the Royal Navy." Mickey replied, and turned back to his screen. "We're in. Here it is, uh, HMS Taureen, Trafalgar-class submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right, we need to select a missile." the Doctor told him.

"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defence codes." Mickey pointed out.

"We don't need it, all we need's an ordinary missile." the Doctor answered. "What's the first category?"

"Sub-harpoon UGM-84A." Mickey replied.

"That's the one. Select." the Doctor directed.

"I could stop you." Jackie told Mickey as he complied with the Doctor's instructions.

"Do it, then." Mickey replied determinedly.

"You ready for this?" the Doctor asked over the phone.

Jackie and Mickey stared each other down for a few seconds, but Jackie made no move to stop him. "Yeah." Mickey said into the phone as Jackie sat back down.

"Mickey the Idiot, the world is in your hands." the Doctor told him. "Fire."

Breathing heavily, Mickey steeled himself and pressed the fire button.

~8~

10 miles off the coast of Plymouth, a missile launched from the sea, destination: 10 Downing Street.

~8~

"Oh, my God!" Jackie breathed as the missile's progress appeared on Mickey's screen.

~8~

"How solid are these?" Harriet asked, tapping the armoured shutters.

"Not solid enough." the Doctor replied gravely. "Built for short-range attacks, nothing this big."

"Right. Now it's my turn to make the decisions." Gazelle spoke up, having finished scanning the room. "There's one chance. A very slim one, but better than nothing." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the cupboard behind her. "If we hole up in there, we might survive this."

"Like riding out an earthquake." Rose realised.

"Exactly." Gazelle confirmed. "Help me. Come on!" And so the two Humans rushed to help the Time Lady clear the cupboard.

~8~

Shed of their skin-suits, the Slitheen were all gathered around the phone in the PM's office. "Ring, damn you!" Jocrassa Fel-Fotch grumbled.

~8~

Mickey checked the missile's progress on his computer screen. "It's on radar." he reported. "Counter defence 556."

"Stop them intercepting it." the Doctor instructed.

"I'm doing it now."

"Good boy."

Mickey tapped a few keys. "556 neutralised."

~8~

Gazelle, Rose and Harriet had finished clearing Indra and the Prime Minister's bodies from the cupboard. The Doctor disconnected Rose's phone from the speaker and joined the women.

~8~

Downstairs, Sergeant Price rushed over to a computer. "What d'ya mean, 'incoming'?" he asked the operator, who pointed at the screen to reveal a missile on radar that was heading straight for them. His training kicking in, Price raced over to a fire alarm and hit it. "Everybody out!" he hollered. "Now! Get out!"

The staff didn't need telling twice and scarpered to the door as fast as their legs would let them.

~8~

The Slitheen gathered in the PM's office heard the alarm. "What the hell is that for?" Jocrassa Fel-Fotch grumbled.

Just then, Sergeant Price burst in. "Sir, there's a missile!" he began, but promptly stopped in his tracks when he saw the huge, hulking green aliens gathered in the room. "Sorry." he said sheepishly, and ran from the room.

~8~

Jackie went out onto Mickey's balcony and saw a small black streak race through the sky, heading for the city centre.

~8~

On Downing Street, staff and security all raced out of No. 10. Sergeant Price was the last man out and fired his pistol into the air to catch the press' attention. "Everybody run!" he hollered, and everyone cleared the street as they heard the tell-tale screech of a missile on final approach to it's target.

~8~

The Time Lords, Rose and Harriet all bundled into the Cabinet room cupboard and crouched in a corner, with Rose on the left, Gazelle next to her, the Doctor next to Gazelle and Harriet next to the Doctor. "Nice knowing you all." Harriet said as they all gripped hands. "Hannibal!" And they all braced themselves for impact.

~8~

The Slitheen in the PM's office all head a screech from above and then they realised that a missile was about to hit them. "Oh, bol..." Jocrassa Fel-Fotch began, but he never got to finish his sentence.

~8~

The missile struck home and 10 Downing Street was engulfed in a huge fireball, completely obliterating the building. When the dust settled, all that was left of No. 10 was a smoking pile of rubble with a metal box sitting atop of it. The door was pushed open to reveal the Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Harriet, all a bit bruised but very much alive and well. "Made in Britain." Harriet commented, proudly patting the wall of the cupboard that had saved their lives.

Sergeant Price came hurrying over to them. "Oh, my God! Are you all alright?" he asked.

Harriet flashed her I.D card at him. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North. I want you to contact the UN immediately, tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down." she ordered. "Go on, tell the news!"

"Yes, ma'am." Price nodded, and hurried off to see to it.

Harriet took a moment to survey the devastation. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out." she commented. "Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"

"Well, maybe you should have a go." the Doctor suggested.

"Me?!" Harriet laughed. "I'm only a back-bencher."

"I'd vote for ya." Rose encouraged.

"Now, don't be silly." Harriet chided. "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help." She climbed down from the rubble and headed over to where the emergency services and the press were arriving. "The Earth is safe!" she shouted to them.

The three time travellers casually followed her out onto Parliament Street. "I thought I knew the name." the Doctor said to Rose. "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms, the architect of Britain's golden age."

"The crisis has passed!" Harriet called to the press. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have something to say to you all." The press all turned their cameras to her. "Mankind stands tall, proud and undefeated. God bless the Human race."

"Good for you, Harriet Jones." Gazelle smiled, then she, the Doctor and Rose began the long walk back to Southwark.

~8~

Rose arrived home at the Tyler flat to find her mother waiting for her. A very relieved Jackie threw her arms around her daughter and pulled her into a bear hug, both women relieved that each other was alright.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle approached the TARDIS, which was still where they'd left her on the estate. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the words 'Bad Wolf' graffitied onto one of the side panels. "Kids." the Doctor grunted in annoyance, then went inside the box. Gazelle just shook her head at the graffiti and followed the Doctor inside.

~8~

Presently, Rose was sitting on the settee in the Tyler's living room, watching a repeat of Harriet Jones' speech on the telly when Jackie came in from the kitchen. "Harriet Jones." the elder Tyler woman said contemptuously. "Who does she think she is? Look at her! Taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughter saved the world!" she shouted at the telly.

"I think the Doctor and Gazelle helped a bit." Rose remarked dryly.

"Oh, alright, them too." Jackie said begrudgingly, sitting down in an armchair. "You should all be given knighthoods."

"That's not the way they do things." Rose told her. "No fuss, they just... move on. Gazelle's lovely, and the Doctor's not that bad if you gave him a chance."

"He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that." Jackie conceded.

"Oh! Now the world has changed, you're saying nice things about him." Rose laughed.

"Well, I reckon I've got no choice! There's no getting rid of 'em since they're ya new best friends." Jackie replied. "What do they eat?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"I was gonna do shepherds pie. All of us, a proper sit down. 'Cos I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about 'em and that life you all lead. Only, I dunno, they're aliens. For all I know, they eat grass and safety pins and things."

"They'll have shepherd's pie." Rose sniggered. "What, ya gonna cook for 'em?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"The Doctor's finally met his match." Rose chortled.

"Ya not too old for a slap, you know." Jackie retorted, and stood up to go back into the kitchen. "You can go and visit ya gran tomorrow. You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing."

Rose's mobile suddenly rang and Rose pulled it out to check the caller I.D. The screen said 'TARDIS calling', complete with an icon of the blue police box. Bemused, Rose answered the call, "Hello?"

~8~

The Doctor was lounging against the TARDIS console with a phone receiver in his hand. "Right, we'll be a couple of hours, then we can go." he said.

"You've got a phone?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Yer think we travel through space and time and haven't got a phone?" the Doctor retorted. "Like I said, couple of hours... I've just got to send out this dispersal..." He pressed a button on the console. "There yer go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."

"My mother's cooking." Rose told him.

"Good! Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer." the Doctor joked.

"Oi! Be nice." Gazelle scolded him from where she was sitting on the jump seat, though she had to admit, it was a funny joke.

"She's cooking tea. For us." Rose explained.

"We don't do that." the Doctor said hastily.

"Still, not a bad idea, though." Gazelle said to herself.

"She wants to get to know ya both." Rose said.

"Tough! We've got better things to do!" the Doctor said stubbornly.

"It's just tea."

"Not to me it isn't."

"She's my mother."

"Well, she's not mine!"

"That's not fair!"

"Well, you can stay there if yer want." the Doctor shrugged. "But right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. "Fires are burning 10 million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out - hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice." And he put the phone receiver down, ending the call.

Gazelle shook her head at him. "You're horrible, you are." she said dryly.

"Yep." the Doctor grinned.

Gazelle stood up. "Well, while we're waiting, I'm gonna pop down the shop. Want anything?"

"Just gimme a Cornetto." the Doctor replied, and so Gazelle set off to the shops.

~8~

Jackie came back into the living room with two cups of tea. "Rose, I was thinking..." she began, then saw that Rose's seat was empty, so she headed to her daughter's bedroom. " I've got that bottle of Amaretto from New Years Eve, do they drink?" She pushed the bedroom door open to see Rose packing clothes into a duffle bag. "I was wandering whether they drink or not."

"The Doctor does, but I don't know if Gazelle does." Rose replied, continuing to pack.

"Don't go, sweetheart." Jackie said quietly. Rose stopped for a moment and looked at her mother. "Please don't go."

Guiltily, Rose continued to pack.

~8~

Gazelle returned to the TARDIS with the Doctor's Cornetto and a sandwich for herself. "Is this gonna be a thing from now on; you go to that sandwich shop every time we come here?" the Doctor asked her as she passed him his ice cream.

"Why not? They do nice sandwiches." Gazelle told him. "Besides, you can talk. Ya always going to that chip shop in Birmingham."

"They do nice chips." the Doctor retorted.

"True." Gazelle conceded. "We'll have to take Rose there one day."

And the Time Lords settled down to take it easy for a bit.

~8~

Two hours later, the Doctor had found the boy responsible for grafting the TARDIS and made him clean it off under Gazelle's supervision, while Mickey sat on a bin nearby, reading the evening paper. "Good lad." Gazelle said when the boy had finished cleaning off his handiwork. "Now, we'll say no more about this, but do anything like this again and ya parents will hear about it. Now, off ya go."

The boy scurried away just as the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS. "All gone?" he asked Gazelle.

"Yep. Clean as a whistle." Gazelle replied, showing him the now graffiti-free panel.

"I just went down the shop." Mickey spoke up. "And I was thinking, ya know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is." He showed the others the paper. The headline was 'Alien hoax?' "How can they do that?" Mickey questioned. "They saw it!"

"They're just not ready." the Doctor said. "Yer happy to believe in something that's invisible, but if it's staring yer in the face, nope! Can't see it. There's a scientific explanation for that. Yer thick."

This earnt him a whack on the shoulder from Gazelle, but Mickey took it in good stride. "We're just idiots." he said.

"Not all of you." Gazelle said. "You did great today, Mickey. You saved the Earth from ya own flat. Now that's quite a feat. Thank you."

Mickey felt good at the praise. Although he was on the fence with the Doctor, Gazelle seemed to be a decent person who treated him fairly.

"Present for yer, Mickey." the Doctor said, taking a CD out of his pocket and handing it to Mickey. "That's a virus. Put it online, it'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist."

"Why would ya wanna do that for?" Mickey questioned.

"'Cos yer right. I am dangerous." the Doctor replied. "I don't want anyone following me. I'd better follow Gazelle's example and keep a low profile."

Just then, Mickey saw the Tylers coming out of Bucknall House. "How can ya say that, and then take her with you?" he asked the Time Lords.

"You could come with us, Mickey, and keep an eye on her." Gazelle offered. "Besides, we owe ya for ruining your life for this past life."

"Thanks, but I can't." Mickey told her. "This life of yours... it's just too much, I... I couldn't do it. Don't tell her I said that." he added quietly as Rose and Jackie reached them.

"I'll get a proper job." Jackie pleaded to Rose. "I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will."

"I'm not leaving 'cos of you." Rose reassured her. "I'm travelling, that's all. And then I'll come back."

"But it's not safe." Jackie protested.

"Mum.. if ya saw it out there, you'd never stay home." Rose said, slipping off her travel bag.

"Got enough stuff?" the Doctor said sarcastically.

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment." Rose replied, tossing the bag to him. "Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me! Haha!" She turned to Mickey. "Come with us, there's plenty of room."

"No chance, he's a liability." the Doctor told her.

"We'd be dead without him." Rose protested.

"Sorry, Rose, but our decision is final." Gazelle said, though she'd decided to keep Mickey's invitation open just in case he ever changed his mind one day.

Rose turned back to Mickey. "Sorry." she said, and hugged him while he secretly mouthed his thanks to the Time Lords.

Rose and Mickey kissed briefly, then pulled apart. "Good luck, then." Mickey said.

"You two still can't promise me." Jackie rounded on the Time Lords. "What if she gets lost? What if something happens to both of ya, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away? How long do I wait, then?"

Neither the Doctor nor Gazelle had an answer for Jackie's question, so Rose came to their rescue. "Mum, ya forgetting, it's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe and by the time I get back, yeah, 10 seconds would've passed. Just 10 seconds." She put her hands on her mother's shoulders and smiled kindly. "So stop worrying. See ya in 10 seconds, yeah?" She hugged her mother and followed the Doctor and Gazelle into the TARDIS.

"Right then..." the Doctor said as he walked up the ramp towards the console, "onwards?"

"Onwards." Gazelle replied, taking up position on the other side of the console.

"Onwards." Rose agreed, standing beside Gazelle.

The trio all shared a grin, and the Time Lords set to work operating the controls.

~8~

Jackie and Mickey watched as the TARDIS dematerialised before their eyes, then Jackie looked at her watch. "10 seconds." she sighed, and walked back towards Bucknall House, while Mickey perched himself back on top of the bin and resumed reading the paper.

Chapter Text

The TARDIS materialised inside a vast darkened room. The Doctor stepped out, followed by Rose, then Gazelle brought up the rear, having checked the scanner to determine their location. "So, what is it?" Rose asked "What's wrong?"

"Dunno, some kinda signal drawing the TARDIS off-course." the Doctor replied.

"Where are we?" Rose asked, looking at their surroundings.

"We're on Earth, in Utah, North America." Gazelle replied. "About half a mile underground. Must be a bunker."

"And... when are we?" was Rose's next question.

"2012." the Time Lords answered together.

"God, that's so close, so I should be... 26." Rose commented.

The Doctor found a light switch and flicked it on. Lights flooded the room and the trio found themselves standing in a museum hall

"Blimey! It's a great big museum." Rose said.

"An alien museum." the Doctor observed. "Someone's got a hobby. They must've spent a fortune on this." They began to walk through the hall, the Time Lords paying attention to the contents of the display cases. "Chunks of meteorite, moon dust." the Doctor noted. "That's the milometer from the Rosewell spaceship."

Rose then noticed something familiar. "That's a bit of Slitheen!" She went over to a case containing a Raxicoricofallapatorian's arm. "That's a Slitheen's arm, it's been stuffed." She read the plaque below the case, which said that the arm had been found in the wreckage of Downing Street in 2006.

Gazelle meanwhile spotted something else. "Doctor, look at this." she called

The Doctor joined her to see a case containing a silver robotic head with a very retro design. "Ah, look at you!" he breathed in recognition.

"What is it?" Rose asked as she joined them.

"An old friend of mine... well, enemy." the Doctor replied. "The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

"Is that where the signal's coming from?" Rose questioned.

"Nah, it's stone dead." the Doctor replied. "The signal's alive. Something's reaching out. Calling for help." Without thinking, he began to reach out to touch the case.

"No, don't!" Gazelle warned. "It might be..." the Doctor's fingers touched the glass and alarms went off, "... alarmed." Gazelle finished flatly.

A group of armed soldiers swarmed into the room and aimed assault rifles at the three time travellers. "If someone's collecting aliens, then that makes you two exhibits A an' B." Rose remarked to the Time Lords.

The Doctor flashed a cheeky grin at the soldiers, while Gazelle sagged her shoulders in exasperation at their luck.

~8~

A smartly dressed balding man with a moustache sat at a desk in an executive office, being shown alien artefacts by a young English man. "And this is the last." the Englishman said as the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose were brought into the office at gunpoint. "Paid $800,000 for it."

"What does it do?" the balding man asked, taking the object from him.

"Well, you see, the tubes on the side must be to channel something." the Englishman replied. "I think maybe fuel..."

"I really wouldn't hold it like that." the Doctor interrupted.

"Shut it!" snapped an officious-looking ginger-haired woman in a suit.

The Doctor ignored her. "Really, though, that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?" the Englishman asked worriedly.

"No, it just looks silly." the Doctor snorted, and held his hand out for the object. The soldiers all raised their guns at him, but the balding man held a hand up to stop them and handed the object to the Doctor. "You just need to be..." he gently ran his fingers over the object and it played a soft note, rather like a harmonica, "...delicate."

The Humans all looked suitably impressed. "It's a musical instrument." the balding man observed.

"And it's a long way from home." the Doctor said, then offered the instrument to Gazelle. "Want a go?"

"Why not?" the Time Lady shrugged. "Haven't seen one of them in years." She took the instrument and ran her fingers over it, playing more soft notes.

"Here, let me." the balding man said, snatching the instrument from her and running his fingers over it, causing it to make harsh bleeping noises.

"He did say delicate." Gazelle advised. "It reacts to the smallest fingerprint, so it needs precision."

The balding man touched the object more gently and softer notes played.

"Very good." the Doctor commented. "Quite the expert."

"As are you two." the man said, tossing the instrument aside. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." the Time Lord replied, giving the man a disdainful look over his careless disregard for the valuable instrument. "And who are you?"

"Like you don't know." the man scoffed. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in world and you just stumbled in by mistake."

"Pretty much sums us up, yeah." the Doctor said simply.

"The question is, how did you get in?" the man asked coolly. "53 floors down, with ya little cat burglar accomplices." He looked at Gazelle and Rose with leering eyes. "Quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty."

"You are gonna get a smack if ya keep looking at us like that." Rose threatened.

The man seemed amused at the threat. "This one's English too!" he laughed and turned to the Englishman. "Hey little Lord Fauntleroy, got ya a girlfriend."

The Englishman just rolled his eyes. "This is Mr Henry Van Statten." he said.

"And who's he when he's at home?" an unimpressed Rose asked.

"Mr Van Statten owns the internet."

"Don't be stupid, no one owns the internet." Rose scoffed.

"And let's just keep the whole world thinking that, right kid?" Van Statten smirked, then turned to Gazelle. "And what about you, gorgeous? You English too?"

"That's none of your business." the Time Lady replied coolly.

The Doctor wasn't amused by Van Statten either. "So yer an expert on just about anything except the things in yer museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up."

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten challenged.

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am." the Doctor said flippantly.

"Modest as ever." Gazelle commented dryly.

"And yet, I captured you, right next to the Cage." Van Statten said to the Doctor. "What were you doing there?"

"You tell me." the Doctor challenged.

"The Cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?"

"Like you don't know."

"Show me."

"You wanna see it?"

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone." Rose cut in dryly.

The Doctor and Van Statten stared each other down for a moment, then Van Statten turned to the ginger-haired woman. "Goddard, inform the cage we're heading down." he ordered, and the woman nodded, then Van Statten turned to the Englishman. "You, English, look after blondie. Canoodle or spoon, or whatever it is you British do." He turned to the Time Lords. "And you two... Gorgeous Girl and Doctor-with-no-name, come and see my little pet."

~8~

Van Statten took the Time Lords to the 'Cage'; a room that was sealed off with a bank vault-like door. "We're tried everything." Van Statten explained. "The creature has... shielded itself, but there's definite signs of life inside." He punched a code into a keypad beside the Cage door and it began to open.

"Inside? Inside what?" the Doctor wandered.

A man in orange overalls exited the Cage. "Welcome back, sir." he said to Van Statten. "I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting."

"Metaltron?" Gazelle raised a brow.

"Thought of it myself." Van Statten smirked. "Good isn't it? Although I'd much prefer to find out it's real name."

The Doctor and Gazelle began to head towards the Cage. "Here, you'd better put these on." the man in overalls said to the Doctor, offering him a pair of thick gloves. "The last guy that touched it... burst into flames."

"I won't touch it, then." the Doctor replied nonchalantly.

"And I've got my own gloves." Gazelle said, holding up her fingerless glove-clad hands.

"Go ahead, Doctor." Van Statten said to the Time Lord. "Impress me."

With placid expressions, the Time Lords entered the Cage and the door shut behind them. The inside of the Cage was dark, but the Time Lords could see some toture implements on a table in the corner. They dreaded to think what Van Statten and his lackeys had been doing to whatever was in this room. Through the darkness, they could see a blue light giving away the Metaltron's location.

"Look, I'm sorry about this." the Doctor called out. "Mr Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I'm the Doctor and this is Gazelle."

"Doc-tor?" a harsh, metallic voice called out from the darkness.

Both Time Lords went as white as sheets. "Impossible." the Doctor breathed in absolute shock.

"Can't be." Gazelle quivered.

"THE Doctor?" the voice called out. The Time Lords watched, both wide-eyed in horror and terror as the lights came on, revealing the Metaltron chained up in a corner of the room. The Metaltron was a battered, bronze pepper pot-shaped object with an eyestalk on top and a plunger arm and laser gun on it's mid-section. "Exterminate! Exterminate!" it bellowed. "Exterminate!"

Let us out!" the Doctor yelled, frantically banging on the door of the Cage and protectively throwing a terrified Gazelle behind him .

"Exterminate!" the Metaltron continued to yell. "You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!"

It waved it's gun around helplessly and the Doctor's terrified expression faded into a huge grin. "It's not working!" he realised, and laughed manically. "Fantastic! Oh, FANTASITC! Powerless! Look at you, the Great Space Dustbin. How does it feel?"

He lunged at the Dalek, which strained against it's chains. "Keep back!" it screeched.

The Doctor just stormed right up to it and looked directly into it's eyestalk. "What for? Whatcha gonna do to me?" He began to circle the Dalek. "If you can't kill... then what're you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? Yer nothing! What the hell are you here for?"

"I am waiting for orders." the Dalek answered.

"What does that mean?"

"I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders."

"Well yer never get any." the Doctor snarled. "Not ever."

"I demand orders!" the Dalek bellowed.

"They're never gonna come!" the Doctor yelled back. "Your race is dead! You burned, all of yer. Ten million ships on fire, the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second."

"You lie!" the Dalek screeched.

"I watched it happen. I made happen!" the Doctor snapped gleefully.

"You destroyed us?!"

The Doctor turned away from the Dalek and faced Gazelle, who was standing by the door with her hands balled into fists and glaring furiously at the Dalek. "I had no choice." the Doctor said quietly.

"And what of the Time Lords?" the Dalek asked.

The Doctor paused. "Dead." he said at last. "They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

"And the coward survived."

"Oh, and we caught your little signal." the Doctor said mockingly. "'Help me', poor little thing." He resumed his normal tone, "But there's no one coming 'cos there's no else left."

The Dalek lowered it's eyestalk. "I am alone in the universe."

"Yep." the Doctor smiled unpleasantly.

"So are you."

The Doctor's smile faded.

"We are the same."

Gazelle spoke up at last. "He is nothing like you!" she snapped, storming up to the Dalek. "'Cos he's got me; the last Time Lady, but you, you've got no one! Two Time Lords, only one Dalek, and there's nothing you can do about it!" she gloated.

The Doctor put a hand on the fuming Time Lady's shoulder. "No, wait, maybe it's right." he said, and turned to the Dalek. "Yeah, ok, you've got a point. 'Cos I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve." He raised his eyebrows and grinned wickedly. "Exterminate." He pulled a lever on the control panel behind him and the Dalek was immediately engulfed by electricity.

"Have pity!" it screamed.

"Why should I? You never did." the Doctor glared.

"Yeah. Whole families begged for pity and you just butchered 'em without a second thought!" Gazelle growled. "See how you like it!"

The Doctor upped the voltage, causing the Dalek to scream in agony, while the Time Lords just watched with manic looks in their eyes.

Just then, Van Statten's guards burst in and pulled the Doctor away from the controls. Van Statten himself came in and addressed the Dalek, "I saved your life, now talk to me! Goddamn it, talk to me!

"You've gotta destroy it!" the Doctor yelled as he and Gazelle were dragged away by the guards.

"The last in the universe." Van Statten continued. "And now I know your name; Dalek. Speak to me, Dalek." The Dalek was silent. "I am Henry Van Statten, now recognise me!" The Dalek remained silent. Van Statten turned to the man in overalls. "Make it talk again, Simmons. Whatever it takes." He walked away, while Simmons approached the Dalek with a malicious glint in his eyes.

~8~

Rose meanwhile was with the Englishman, who she found out was named Adam Mitchell. Adam had taken Rose to his workshop. "Sorry about the mess." he said as Rose looked around. "Mr Van Statten sorta lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods." He handed Rose an object off his desk. "What d'you think that is?"

"Er... a lump of metal?" she shrugged.

"Yeah. Yeah, but I think... well, I'm almost certain, it's from the hull of a spaceship."

Rose finished examining the lump of metal and put it back on Adam's desk.

"The thing is, it's all true." Adam continued. "Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet, spaceships, visitors to Earth, they really exist."

"That's amazing." Rose replied, trying her best to sound surprised.

"I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe that the whole universe is teeming with life."

"I'm gob-smacked, yeah. And you do what? Sit here and catalogue it?"

"Best job in the world." Adam said proudly.

"Imagine if ya could get out there." Rose pressed carefully. "Travel amongst the stars and see it for real."

"Yeah... I'd give anything." Adam sighed longingly. "But I don't think it's ever gonna happen, not in our lifetimes."

"Oh, ya never know..." Rose said nonchalantly. "What about all those people who say they've been inside spaceships and things and talked to aliens?"

"I think they're nutters." Adam snorted.

"Yeah, me too." Rose said hastily, and they shared a laugh. "So, how'd you end up here?"

"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit." Adam replied.

"Ah, right, you're a genius." Rose raised a brow.

"Sorry, but yeah... can't help it. I was born clever." Adam shrugged. "When I was eight, I logged onto the US defence system, nearly caused World War Three."

"What, and that's funny, is it?" Rose frowned. For her, it had been only last week that the Slitheen had tried to destroy the world by starting the Third World War, so it was no laughing matter for her.

"Well you should've been there!" Adam defended. "Just to see them running around! Fantastic!"

"You sound like the Doctor." Rose commented.

"Are you and him...?"

"God, no." Rose snorted. "We're just friends." She had no romantic feelings for the Doctor whatsoever. He wasn't even Human for one thing, and despite their claims to the contrary, she suspected that the Doctor and Gazelle had eyes for each other.

"Good." Adam nodded

"Why's it good?" Rose probed.

"Just is." Adam said hastily.

There was a pause, then Rose decided to change the subject. "So... wouldn't you rather be downstairs? I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mr Van Statten's got a living creature down there."

"Yeah... yeah, I did ask, but he keeps it to himself." Adam replied. "Although, if you're a genius, it doesn't take long to patch in on the comm systems."

"Let's have a look, then." Rose laughed

Adam turned to his computer and tapped a few keys. "It doesn't do much, the alien." he explained. "It's weird, it's kind of... useless, it's just like this... great big pepper pot."

They accessed the cameras that surveyed the Cage, where they saw Simmons approach the Dalek and begin to torture it with one of the implements, causing the Dalek to scream.

"It's being tortured!" Rose cried in alarm. "Where're the Doctor and Gazelle?" She knew that the Time Lords had been going down to the Cage, but they were now nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know." Adam replied.

"Take me down there. Now." Rose demanded, striding out of the room.

Adam had no choice but to follow.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle, Van Statten, Goddard and two guards stepped into a lift, the Time Lords having calmed down from their earlier moment of madness "The metal's just battle armour." the Doctor explained. "The real Dalek creature's inside."

"What's it look like?" Van Statten asked.

"Like a nightmare." Gazelle told him. "It's a hideous mutation. The Dalek race were genetically engineered to have only one emotion: hate."

Van Statten was actually impressed by this. "Genetically engineered... by whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten." the Doctor replied gruffly. "By a man who was king of his own little world, you'd like him."

"It's been on Earth for over 50 years, sold at a private auction moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" Goddard asked.

"Because I'm here." the Doctor replied grimly. "How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"Records say it fell from the sky like a meteorite." Goddard replied. "It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands, burnt in it's crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming It must've gone insane."

"It must've fallen through time." Gazelle mused. "The only survivor."

"You talked about a war?" Goddard remarked to the Doctor.

"The Time War." he replied. "The final battle between our people and the Dalek race."

"But you both survived too." Van Statten said with a greedy glint in his eye that neither Time Lord noticed.

"Not by choice." the Doctor muttered.

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, there's you two." Van Statten smirked. "The only two of your kind in existence."

The Time Lords shared a look, realising that they'd said too much.

The lift arrived at the floor where Van Statten's office was located and the two guards promptly grabbed the two Time Lords. "Take the girl to my office." Van Statten ordered. "I'll examine her later." He grinned deviously at the prospect of strip searching such a beautiful woman. "We'll take the Doctor to the examination room." he told the other guard. "May as well get him of the way first."

"Don't you touch him!" Gazelle burst out, struggling against her guard as he dragged her out of the lift.

"I'll be alright." the Doctor told her. "I've had worse. Just do as they say."

Gazelle glared angrily at Van Statten. "If he gets so such as a scratch on him, I promise you I'll make you regret it!" she threatened.

Van Statten just smirked at the threat and closed the lift door.

~8~

Lights flashed on in an examination room, revealing the Doctor stripped to the waist and chained to a rack. Van Statten stood behind an X-ray scanner that was aimed at the Time Lord "Now, smile." he grinned, and activated the scanner. The Doctor grimaced and moaned in pain from the scan. The scan showed the Doctor's ribcage with two hearts beating inside it. "Two hearts!" Van Statten cheered. "A binary vascular system! Oh, I am so gonna patent this!"

"So that's yer secret." the Doctor ground out. "You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it."

"This technology's been falling to Earth for centuries." Van Statten remarked. "All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances from alien junk, you have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crater, and do ya know what they found? The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course, no need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?" he finished smugly.

The Doctor glared angrily at him. "D'yer know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of it's species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."

Van Statten was completely unfazed by this. "In that case, I will be true to myself and continue." he shrugged, and walked back to the scanner.

"Listen to me!" the Doctor pleaded. "That thing downstairs is gonna kill every last one of us!"

"Nothing can escape the cage." Van Statten retorted and scanned the Doctor again, causing him to writhe in pain.

"But it's woken up!" the Doctor tried when the scan had finished. "It knows I'm here! It's gonna get out! Van Statten, I swear no one on this base safe! No one on this planet!"

But Van Statten wasn't interested in listening to reason and just scanned the Doctor again.

~8~

Meanwhile, Adam and Rose arrived at the cage. "Hold it right there!" guard commander Bywater demanded. "Level three access." Adam said, flashing his ID card at him. "Special clearance from Mr Statten." They passed Simmons and entered the Cage, where Rose stared at the Dalek. "Don't get too close." Adam warned her.

Rose carefully walked up to the Dalek and peered into it's eyestalk. "Hello?" she began delicately. "Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. I've got two friends. They can help. They're called the Doctor and Gazelle. What's your name?"

"Yes." the Dalek spoke up.

"What?"

The Dalek raised it's eyestalk up to look at Rose. "I am in pain." it said in a weak, pathetic voice. "They torture me. But still they fear me. Do YOU fear me?"

"No." Rose said defiantly.

The Dalek lowered it's eyestalk. "I am dying."

"No, we can help!" Rose encouraged.

"I welcome death." the Dalek croaked. "But I am glad... that before I die... I met a Human was not afraid."

Rose felt overwhelmed with pity. "Isn't there anything I can do?" she offered

"My race is dead. I shall die alone."

A sympathetic Rose reached a hand out to comfort the Dalek. "Rose no!" Adam warned, remembering hearing about a man who had burst into flames upon touching the Dalek.

But it was too late. Rose's hand made contact with the Dalek's casing, which promptly burned bright orange, causing the young woman to snatch her hand away.

"Genetic material extrapolated." the Dalek announced, it's voice back to normal. "Initiate cellular reconstruction!" And it burst out of it's chains with a new lease of life.

Alarmed, Rose and Adam backed up to the door as Simmons came in with a gun. "What the hell have ya done?!" he glared at Rose, then approached the Dalek, which aimed it's plunger arm at him. "Watcha gonna do? Sucker me to death?" he taunted. No sooner had those words left his mouth, then the Dalek's plunger arm latched itself onto his face and crushed it like a paper cup.

Horrified, Rose and Adam rushed outside. "It's killing him!" Rose shrieked to Bywater. "Do something!"

Bywater immediately raised the alarm on his communications earpiece. "Condition red! Repeat: Condition red! This is not a drill!"

~8~

In the examination room, Van Statten and the Doctor heard the alarm. "Release me if you wanna live." the Doctor croaked.

~8~

The Doctor, Van Statten and two guards arrived at Van Statten's office, where Goddard and Gazelle were waiting. A wall monitor showed the feed from the Cage. "You've gotta keep it in it's cell." the Doctor informed Bywater.

"Doctor, it's all my fault." Rose sighed, cursing herself for having been so gullible.

"I've sealed the compartment." Bywater said. "It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"The Dalek's a genius." the Doctor countered. "It can calculate a billion combinations in a few seconds flat."

Sure enough, the door to the Cage began to open, so Bywater and a female guard aimed their pistols at the opening door, while Rose and Adam stood behind them. "Open fire!" Bywater ordered, and he and the female opened fire on the Dalek

"Don't shoot it, I want it unharmed!" Van Statten spluttered.

The Doctor and Gazelle both glared at him. An evil alien killing machine on the loose, and he was putting it before the lives of all the Humans on Earth!

"Rose, stop gawping and get outta there!" Gazelle hollered, but Rose didn't budge; she just stared, transfixed, as the Dalek trundled out of the cage, completely unharmed by the bullets being fired at it and crossed over towards a computer terminal on the wall.

~8~

Seeing that their bullets were having no affect, Bywater turned to his colleague. "Di Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive." he ordered. "That is your job, got that?"

Di Maggio nodded and turned to Rose and Adam. "You two, with me." she said, and led them out of the room.

The Dalek rolled over to the monitor screen which was showing the Time Lords, Van Statten and Goddard, and slammed it's plunger arm into it, smashing the screen. Then, electricity began flowing along the arm and into the Dalek itself, it's damaged armour repairing itself and the rust fading away until the Dalek looked spotless.

"Abandoning the cage, sir." Bywater said into his earpiece, and wisely hurried out of the room.

~8~

Goddard was hurriedly tapping into her computer as the Doctor, Gazelle and Van Statten looked over her shoulder. "It's draining the base, we're losing power." she reported. "Oh, my God. It's raiding power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading." the Doctor realised.

"Downloading what?" Van Statten questioned, still not getting the danger everyone was in.

"Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down." Goddard told him. Unlike her boss, she was grasping the seriousness of the situation.

"It's not just energy. That Dalek just absorbed the entire internet. It knows everything." the Doctor said grimly.

~8~

The Dalek backed away from the computer. "The Daleks survive in me!" it announced, and began test firing it's gun, which was now working again.

~8~

"Sir, the cameras in the vault have gone down." Goddard reported, checking various feeds on her computer.

"We've only got emergency power, it's eaten everything else, yer've got to kill it now!" the Doctor urged.

Goddard took the hint and spoke into her earpiece, "All guards converge on the Metaltron cage immediately."

~8~

Di Maggio led Rose and Adam down a corridor where armed guards were readying their weapons. "Civilians, let 'em through!" De Maggio called to her colleagues, and led the two civilians down the corridor and round a corner out of sight. The remaining guards took aim in the direction they knew the Dalek would be coming from.

Soon, Bywater came running into view. "Cover the north wall." he ordered. "Red Division, maintain suppressing fire along the perimeter. Blue division, hold..." He was suddenly cut off when he was struck by a bolt of energy, which caused his skeleton to briefly become visible before he crashed to the floor dead.

The Dalek came into view and the soldiers opened fire on it, but their bullets simply melted in thin air before they could even touch the armour. The Dalek was surrounded, but it simply picked off the soldier one by one, it's mid-section swivelling round to deal with two guards who tried to take it from behind.

~8~

The sounds of the battle could be heard over the comms in Van Statten's office. "Tell them to stop shooting at it!" Van Statten ordered.

"It's killing them!" Goddard protested.

"They're dispensable, that Dalek is unique." Van Statten waved her off and grabbed the intercom. "I don't want a scratch on it's bodywork. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?"

The sounds of gunfire faded into silence, but not because Van Statten's orders were being obeyed, but because there was no one left alive to follow them. The Doctor, Gazelle and Goddard all gave Van Statten angry glares, then turned their attention to a map of the base on Goddard's computer screen.

"That's us, right below the surface." Goddard explained. "That's the Cage, and that's the Dalek." she indicated a blue light moving along a corridor

"This museum of yours, have yer got any alien weapons?" the Doctor questioned.

"Lots of them, but the trouble is the Dalek's between us and them." Goddard replied.

"We've gotta keep that thing alive." Van Statten said. "We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there."

"And leaving everyone trapped down there with it?" Gazelle countered. "Rose is down there, along with hundreds of other people. We're not trapping them just because you think ya stupid collection is more important than them! Have ya got that, Van Statten?!" She turned back to the map. "The Dalek's gotta go through that area. What is it?"

"Weapons testing." Goddard replied.

"Give guns to the lawyers, technicians, anyone. Everyone." the Doctor ordered. "Only then have yer a chance of killing it."

Goddard nodded and got up to do so, the Doctor taking her place at the computer.

~8~

Rose, Adam and Di Maggio reached a flight of stairs. "Stairs! That's more like!" Rose grinned. "It hasn't got legs, it's stuck!"

"It's coming! Get up!" Di Maggio urged, so they hurried up the stairs and watched as the Dalek arrived and stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Great big alien death machine. Defeated by a flight of stairs." Adam gloated.

Di Maggio aimed her pistol at the Dalek. "Now, listen to me. I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate, then I guarantee that Mr Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops. Right now. The killing stops, have ya got that?" The Dalek watched her, but said nothing. "I demand that you surrender, is that clear?"

There was a short pause, then the Dalek spoke at last, "Elevate." And it promptly levitated off the floor and hovered up the first few steps.

"Oh, my God." Rose breathed, while Adam looked gob smacked, regretting taunting the Dalek now.

"Adam, get her out!" Di Maggio ordered as the Dalek proceeded up the stairs.

"Come with us, you can't stop it!" Rose urged her.

"Someone's gotta try." Di Maggio said bravely. "Now get out!" She pushed them away. "Don't look back, just run!"

Rose and Adam hurried up the rest of the stairs and into the corridor. They heard gunshots, followed by the sound of the Dalek's weapon and Di Maggio screaming.

~8~

Van Statten paced in his office. "I thought you were the great experts, Doctor and whatever-your-name-is." he said to the Time Lords, who were both monitoring the Dalek's progress on the monitor. "If you're both so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate. There must be something it needs, everything needs something."

"Where's the nearest town?" the Doctor asked.

"Salt Lake City."

"Population?"

"One million."

"All dead. If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature, that's all it needs."

"But why would it do that?!" Van Statten cried.

"Because it honestly thinks they should die." Gazelle told him grimly. "Human beings are different, and Daleks believe that everything different is wrong. Think of the Nazis, but a thousand times worse. That's what a Dalek is."

"It's the ultimate in racial cleansing." the Doctor agreed. "And you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!"

~8~

In the weapons testing area, soldiers and technicians took up their positions. "The Dalek's surrounded by a forcefield." the Doctor said over the intercom. "The bullets are melting before they even hit home. If you concentrate yer fire, yer might get through. Aim for the dome, the head, the eyepiece, THAT'S the weakest spot."

"Thank you, Doctor, but I think I know how to fight one little tin robot." the commander scoffed. "Positions!" he ordered, and his men all readied their weapons, then they all waited apprehensively. After a few moments, Rose and Adam ran into view. "Hold ya fire!" the commander ordered his men, and turned to the two civilians. "You two, get the hell outta there!"

Rose and Adam ran past the soldiers and reached the door at the other end of the room just as the Dalek came into view. They stopped for a moment to watch it. The Dalek stopped too and focused on them, it's eyestalk zooming in on Rose's face, then it turned in their direction. Adam grabbed Rose's hand and tried to pull her away. "It was looking at me." Rose frowned.

"Yeah, it wants to slaughter us!" Adam rolled his eyes.

"I know, but it was looking right at me."

"So?" Adam scoffed impatiently. "It's just a sort of a metal eye thing, it's looking all round!"

"I don't know..." Rose shook her head. "It's like there's something inside looking at me, like... like it knows me."

The Dalek made it's way through the room.

"On my mark..." the commander said as the Dalek looked up at them. "Open fire!"

They opened fire on the Dalek, but like before, their bullets had no affect.

~8~

A wall monitor in Van Statten's office switched itself on, showing the battle in the weapons testing area. "We've got visual." Goddard reported.

"It wants us to see." the Doctor said as he and Gazelle got up to look at the monitor.

~8~

The Dalek looked directly at the camera, completely unfazed by the volley of gunshots being fired at it. It slowly levitated into the air until it was hovering by the ceiling, then it fired at the fire alarm, causing the sprinklers to rain water down on the soldiers. The bullets kept coming, but the Dalek paid no heed. It aimed at the huge puddle of water that had formed on the floor and fired at it, frying the majority of the soldiers, who were standing in the puddle. They all fell like flies, leaving just the commander and a few men who were standing on an overhead gantry.

"Fall back!" the commander hollered. "Fall back!" But before they could get to safety, the Dalek fired at the gantry, electrifying it and frying the remaining men.

~8~

There was a stunned silence in Van Statten's office. The Doctor and Gazelle both looked down at the floor, griping each other's hands tightly. The Doctor was breathing heavily in shock, while a few tears ran down Gazelle's face in respect for all the people who had just lost their lives.

"Perhaps it's time for a new strategy." Van Statten spoke up, finally realising the true gravity of the situation. "Maybe we should consider abandoning this place."

"Except there's no power to the helipad, sir." Goddard spat, having had enough of her stupid boss. "We can't get out."

"You said you could seal the vault." the Doctor said to Van Statten.

"It was designed to be a bunker." Van Statten explained, moving to the computer. "In the event of nuclear war, steel bulkheads..."

"There's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive." Goddard told the Time Lords.

"We've got emergency power." the Doctor countered. "We can re-route that to the bulkheads."

"We'd have to bypass the security codes." Goddard pointed out. "That would take a computer genius!"

"Good thing you've got me, then." Van Statten said

"You wanna help?" the Doctor scoffed. So far, Van Statten had been nothing but a nuisance, now he actually wanted to do something useful!

"I don't wanna die, Doctor, simple as that." Van Statten said. "Nobody knows this software better than me."

Goddard then noticed the security footage of the weapons testing area coming back on, showing the Dalek standing in the middle of the room, facing the camera. "Sir, ma'am." she called to the Time Lords, who both looked at the screen.

"I shall speak only to the Time Lords." the Dalek stated.

The Doctor and Gazelle slowly walked up to the monitor, neither of them taking their eyes off the Dalek. "Yer gonna get rusty." the Doctor remarked stiffly.

"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler." the Dalek said. "Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller regenerated me."

"And what's ya next trick, evil juggling?" Gazelle baited.

"I have been searching for the Daleks."

"Yeah, we saw." the Doctor said. "Downloading the internet. What did yer find?"

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes."

"And?"

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?!"

"Yer just a soldier without commands."

"Then I shall follow the primary order, the Dalek instinct to destroy! To conquer!"

"What for?" the Doctor asked in exasperation. "What's the point? Don't yer see? It's all gone. Everything you were, everything you stood for."

"Then what should I do?"

"Alright then." the Doctor said, a hard look on his face "If yer want orders... follow this one: kill yourself."

"The Daleks MUST survive!"

"The Daleks have failed!" the Doctor exploded with pure hatred. "Why don't yer finish the job and make the Daleks extinct?! Rid the universe of yer filth, why don't yer just DIE?!" he bellowed, spit flying from his mouth in his passionate hatred.

The Dalek was silent for a few seconds then... "You would make an excellent Dalek."

The Doctor stared dumbstruck at the screen, feeling like he'd just been punched in the stomach.

Now it was Gazelle's turn to explode at the Dalek. "DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE HIM TO YOU!" she roared. "HE'S A GOOD MAN, WHILE YOU, YOU'RE JUST A VILE, EVIL ABOMINATION!" And with that, she flashed her sonic screwdriver at the screen to shut it off before the Dalek could retort.

There was a brief silence in the room, punctuated by Gazelle's heavy breathing, then the Doctor spoke to Van Statten, "Seal the vaults."

~8~

The Doctor and Van Statten were soon busy tying away on the computer. "I can leech power off the ground defences, feed it to the bulkheads." Van Statten explained. "It's been since I've had to work this fast."

"Are you enjoying this?" the Doctor scowled.

"Your friend, she's still down there." Goddard reminded.

~8~

Adam and Rose were running up a flight of stairs when Rose's mobile rang. "This isn't the best time." she said as she answered.

"Where are you?" Gazelle asked, having borrowed Goddard's earpiece to contact their companion.

"Level 49."

"You've gotta keep moving. The vault's being sealed, the bulkhead's at level 46."

"Can't ya stop 'em closing?"

"We're the ones closing 'em. We can't wait and we can't help you. Now for God's sakes. stop stopping to gawp at the Dalek and run for it!"

Rose and Adam promptly quickened up the pace.

~8~

"Done it." Van Statten announced. "We've got power to the bulkheads."

"The Dalek's right behind them." Goddard warned.

"C'mon, Rose. Come on!" Gazelle muttered anxiously to herself

~8~

"We're nearly there, give us two seconds." Rose said into her phone as she and Adam reached floor 46.

~8~

"Doctor, I can't sustain the power." Van Statten said. "The whole system is failing." The Doctor looked at him. "Doctor, you've gotta close the bulkheads."

The Doctor paused for a few seconds, trying to summon the courage. "I'm sorry." he breathed, and hit the enter key on his keyboard.

~8~

Rose and Adam reached the corridor where the bulkhead was beginning to close. Adam was nearly there, but Rose was falling behind. "Come on!" Adam urged her. The bulkhead was only a foot away from the ground as Adam rolled underneath it.

~8~

The Time Lords stared intently at the screen, waiting. "The vault is sealed." Van Statten announced.

"Rose, where are you?" Gazelle said into her earpiece. "Did ya make it?"

~8~

Rose leaned against the wrong side of the bulkhead, taking a few steadying breaths before she answered. "Sorry, I was a bit slow."

~8~

"No..." Gazelle choked in horror, while the Doctor's face went as white as a sheet.

~8~

Rose glanced behind her to see the Dalek's shadow around the corner, then she turned away. "See ya both then, Doctor, Gazelle. It wasn't either of yours fault. Remember that, ok? It wasn't your fault. And d'ya know what?" she choked up. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world." She turned slowly around to face the Dalek as it approached her.

"Exterminate!" the Dalek bellowed, and opened fire...

~8~

Gazelle tore the earpiece out and let it fall to the floor as she stood numbly in shock, while the Doctor buried his head in his hands. "I killed her." he breathed in shock and horror.

"I'm sorry." Van Statten said.

Gazelle's shock was suddenly replaced by anger. She stormed over to Van Statten and slammed her fist into his eye. "We promised we'd protect her! She was only here because of us, and you're sorry?! WE COULD'VE KILLED THAT DALEK IN IT CELL, AND YOU STOPPED US!" she thundered.

"It was the prize of my collection!" Van Statten blustered, nursing his black eye.

"YOUR COLLECTION?!" the Doctor spat furiously. "But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Rose?" Van Statten had no answer. "Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater."

"Exactly! I wanted to touch the stars!" Van Statten shrilled.

"You just wanna drag the stars down and stick 'em underground underneath tons of sand and dirt and label 'em." the Doctor sneered contemptuously. "And label 'em. You're about as far from the stars as yer can get. And you took her down with you." he finished, and turned to Gazelle, who's anger at Van Statten had given way to grief at Rose's death. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry into his chest while he gently stroked her hair in comfort.

"She was 19-years-old." Gazelle sobbed. "She had her whole life ahead of her."

~8~

Rose cautiously opened her eyes to find that she was still alive. She peered round to see that the Dalek was just standing there, staring at her. "Go on then, kill me." Still nothing happened. "Why're you doing this?"

"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose." the Dalek said.

"They're all dead because of you!" Rose said angrily.

"They are dead because of US." the Dalek countered.

"And now what? What're you waiting for?"

"I feel your fear."

"What d'ya expect?!"

"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear." the Dalek said in an almost frenzied tone, then fired wildly at the wall either side of Rose. "You gave me life. What else have you given me?!" it screeched hysterically. "I am contaminated!"

~8~

Adam stepped out of the lift into Van Statten's office. The Doctor wasted no time in rounding on him. "You were quick on yer feet, leaving Rose behind." he sneered.

"I'm not the one who sealed the Vault!" Adam retorted indignantly.

Suddenly, the screen on the wall sprang to life, showing Rose standing by the Dalek's side. "Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies." the Dalek demanded.

The Time Lords stepped towards the screen. "You're alive!" the Doctor cheered in joy and relief.

"Can't get rid of me." Rose replied.

"We thought you were dead." Gazelle said, wiping her eyes.

"Open the bulkhead!" the Dalek demanded.

"Don't do it!" Rose shouted defiantly.

"What use are emotions if you will not save your friend?" the Dalek taunted.

Both the Doctor and Gazelle were stunned by this statement. Daleks never understood about friendships; they would just refer to friends as associates.

They shared a look, then the Doctor crossed over to the computer. "I killed her once. I can't do it again." And he hit the enter key.

~8~

The bulkhead on floor 46 opened and Rose and the Dalek slowly made their way through the opening.

~8~

"What do we do now?" Van Statten cried desperately "Ya bleeding hearts, what the hell do we do?!"

"Kill it when it gets here." Adam suggested

"All the guns are useless, and the alien weapons are in the vault." Goddard said gloomily.

Adam swallowed hard. "Only the catalogued ones." he said, earning himself a pointed look from Van Statten. Adam just smiled apologetically.

"Good idea." the Doctor nodded, and turned to Gazelle. "I'll take care of this, you'd better stay here."

"No chance." she told him firmly. "We're in this together."

~8~

The Time Lords stood in Adam's workshop, rifling through a basket of un-catalogued weapons. Gazelle soon found a rifle-like weapon which just needed it's power cells charging up, so she set to work with her sonic screwdriver to do that, while the Doctor continued to rummage through the basket. "Broken. Broken. Hairdryer." he commented as he chucked a few items away.

"Mr Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does, he wipes their memory." Adam explained. "I keep this stuff in case I need to fight my way out one day."

"What, you in a fight?" the Doctor scoffed. "I'd like to see that."

"I could do." Adam said indignantly.

"What're yer gonna do, throw yer A-levels at 'em?" the Doctor retorted, then he found a vicious-looking gun in the basket. "Oh, yes. Lock and load!" He turned to Gazelle, who had finished charging up her weapon. "Ready?" he asked her.

"Ready." Gazelle replied, cocking her weapon, then she and the Doctor set off to find the Dalek.

~8~

Rose and the Dalek stood in the lift, on their way up to Van Statten's office. Rose watched the Dalek's gun twitch nervously. "I'm begging you, don't kill them, you didn't kill me." she said.

The Dalek spun it's dome around to look at her, causing her to duck to avoid it's eyestalk "But why not?" it screeched. "Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What AM I?"

The lift doors opened to reveal Van Statten standing there, waiting nervously. "Don't move!" Rose warned. "Don't do anything, it's beginning to question itself."

The Dalek advanced on it's former captor. "Van Statten, you tortured me. Why?"

"I wanted to help you." a terrified Van Statten blustered, backing away. "I just... I don't know, I, I was just trying to help. I thought that if we could get through to you, if we could mend you... I wanted you better, I'm sorry." The Dalek continued to advance on him, backing him up against the wall. "I'm so sorry! I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now." the Dalek retorted. "Exterminate! Exterminate!" Van Statten winced, waiting for the end. "Exterminate!"

"Don't do it! Don't kill him!" Rose hollered, rushing over. The Dalek turned it's dome to face her and she looked right into it's eyestalk. "You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else. Not just killing... what else is there? What d'ya want?"

The Dalek turned back to Van Statten, then back to Rose. "I want freedom."

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle charged up the stairs, their alien weapons in hand.

~8~

Rose and the Dalek stepped onto floor 1 of the base. The Dalek fired it's weapon at the ceiling, making a hole which sunlight streamed through, shining on the Dalek. "Ya out. You made it." Rose said. "Never thought I'd see the sunlight again." she commented.

"How... does... it... feel?" the Dalek croaked, sounding strained, then it opened up it's casing to reveal the mutant inside. The mutant looked something like an octopus with a huge eye in the centre and tentacles, which it reached out into the sunlight.

"Get out of the way." a familiar Northern-accented voice ordered, and Rose turned around to see the Doctor and Gazelle standing behind her with their weapons aimed at the Dalek. "Rose, get out of the way, now!" the Doctor demanded.

"No!" Rose shook her head. "'Cos I won't let ya do this."

"Don't be stupid, Rose!" Gazelle said. "That thing killed hundreds of people today. To say nothing the thousands of Time Lords it killed in the war."

"I'm sorry about them, but it's not the ones currently pointing guns at me." Rose countered.

Neither Time Lord wavered. "We've got to do this." the Doctor said determinedly. "We've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed our people, our homes, we've got nothing left."

Rose's heart went out for them in that moment, but she didn't waver in her determination "Look at it." she said, and stepped aside to let them see the mutant.

"What's it doing?" a confused Doctor frowned.

"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants." Rose said.

"But it can't..." the Doctor muttered, slowly lowering his weapon.

"It's a trick." Gazelle growled, maintaining her aim. "Daleks don't care about sunlight. All they care about is killing!"

"It couldn't kill Van Statten, it couldn't kill me, it's changing." Rose said. "What about you, Gazelle, what the hell are you changing into?" She was surprised to see Gazelle so determined to kill. So far, Gazelle had seemed to be the sensible one, yet she seemed like a total stranger right now.

Gazelle looked completely lost. Shakily, she lowered her weapon. "Oh, Rose, the Daleks took everything from me." she sighed, close to tears.

"Why do we survive?" the Dalek asked.

"I don't know." the Doctor sighed.

"Guess it's our punishment." Gazelle muttered sadly.

"I am the last of the Daleks." the Dalek croaked, it's voice sounding strained now.

"You're not even that." the Doctor said. "Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Not for a Dalek."

"I can feel so many ideas." the Dalek strained "So much darkness... Rose... give me orders! Order me to die."

"I can't do that." Rose said.

"This is not life. This is sickness! I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!"

Rose swallowed hard "Do it." she ordered.

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah."

"So am I." the Dalek said feebly. "Exterminate."

Rose backed up to join the Time Lords as the Dalek sealed it's armour back up. It levitated into the air and the golden orbs on it's casing detached themselves to form a perfect sphere around the Dalek. The Dalek glowed briefly, then imploded into nothing. The Doctor stared numbly at the place where the Dalek had been, while Gazelle turned and walked silently away.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Rose asked the Doctor worriedly.

"I hope so." he replied gravely. "The Daleks did something terrible to her, and seeing that one has reopened old wounds."

~8~

The Doctor and Rose found Gazelle wandering aimlessly around the museum hall on floor 53. "I was looking to see if there was anything from home in here." she told them, her voice stoic, but her eyes betraying her deep sadness. "Nothing. Not even so much as a speck of dirt."

The Doctor took her hand in comfort and they walked over to the TARDIS. "At least we've got this little piece of home." the Doctor sighed, running his other hand over the woodwork. "Better than nothing."

"Is that the end of it, the Time War?" Rose asked.

"We're the only ones left." the Doctor replied solemnly. "We win. How 'bout that?" It felt like an empty victory.

"The Dalek survived, maybe some of your people did too." Rose counselled.

"If there were, we'd know about it." Gazelle replied "We'd be able to sense them. But we can only sense each other. It's just the time of us."

"Well then, good thing I'm not going anywhere." Rose encouraged.

The Time Lords both managed brave smiles and the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, ready to leave. "Thanks, by the way." Gazelle said to Rose.

"For what?"

"For stopping us from shooting that Dalek. If we had, then we'd have committed genocide, and we'd have been no better than the Daleks."

Rose gave her friend a comforting hug just as Adam jogged up to them. "We'd better get out." he said. "Van Statten's disappeared... they're closing down the base. Goddard says they're gonna fill it up with cement. Like it never existed."

"Good, best thing for it." Gazelle said.

"I'll have to go back home." Adam continued.

"Better hurry up then." the Doctor told him briskly. "Next flight to Heathrow leaves at 1500 hours."

"Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars." Rose hinted.

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then." the Doctor retorted.

"He's all on his own, and he did help." Rose persisted.

"Rose, he left you to die down there just so he could save himself." Gazelle pointed out.

"He didn't mean to." Rose defended.

"What're you all talking about?" Adam interrupted, not sure what was going on. "We've got to leave!"

"Plus, he's a bit pretty." the Doctor remarked, eyeing Adam with disdain.

"I hadn't noticed." Rose said innocently.

"Sure ya didn't." Gazelle snorted.

"Oh, come on." Rose persisted.

"On yer own head." the Doctor conceded, and turned back towards the TARDIS.

"What're you all doing?" Adam asked as the trio disappeared inside the box. "She said 'cement.' She wasn't joking, we're gonna get sealed in! Doctor? What're you doing hiding inside a box? Rose? Gazelle?" He peered through the doors and stepped inside, then the TARDIS dematerialised.

Chapter Text

The TARDIS materialised in a large, brightly-lit room full of TV screens broadcasting news channels. The Doctor and Rose stepped out first. "So, it's 200,000," the Doctor told Rose, "it's a spaceship... no, wait a minute, space station, and uh... go and try that gate over there." He pointed to a gate in the corner of the room. "Off yer go!"

"200,000?" Rose questioned.

"200,000." the Time Lord confirmed, leaning against the TARDIS.

"'Kay." Rose nodded, and knocked on the TARDIS door. "Adam? Out ya come."

Adam stepped out, followed by Gazelle, who had been checking the scanner to see if they'd arrived in the right place and time. As the Doctor had chosen the destination for Rose's first trip, they'd agreed that Gazelle would choose for Adam's. Adam's mouth dropped open when he saw their surroundings. "Oh, my God." he breathed in awe.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Rose said casually.

"Where are we?" Adam asked.

"Good question." Rose said knowledgably. "Let's see. So, um... judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200,000." She saw Adam nodding and mumbling, still boggled. "If ya listen... engines." she continued. "We're on some sort of space station. Yeah. Definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here, they could turn the heating down..." she commented, rubbing her neck uncomfortably. "Tell ya what, let's try that gate. Come on!" She led the way to the gate the Doctor had pointed out and opened it, leading an awestruck Adam and the Time Lords through into the room beyond. They found themselves on an observation deck that gave a grandstand view of Planet Earth down below. "Here we go!" Rose said. "And this is..." she paused as she looked down at the Earth. Adam had to hold onto the railings for support as he joined her by her side. "I'll let the Doctor describe it." Rose finished, feeling a little awestruck herself.

"Actually, I think Gazelle should do the honours this time." the Doctor replied, and gestured for the Time Lady to begin.

"Welcome to the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire." Gazelle told Adam. "And there it is; Planet Earth in it's prime. Covered in mega-cities and featuring five moons, total population; 96 billion. This is the heart of a galactic domain which stretches across a million planets and encompasses a million species, with Humanity right in the middle."

It was all too much for Adam and he abruptly fainted with a girlish sigh. Gazelle managed to catch him before he hit the floor, while the Doctor and Rose didn't even bother to turn around. "He's your boyfriend." the Doctor commented dryly.

"Not anymore." Rose shrugged.

~8~

When Adam came to, the quarter returned to the room they'd landed in. "Come on, Adam, open yer mind." the Doctor said cheerfully. "Yer gonna like this fantastic period of history. The Human race at it's most intelligent; culture, art, politics. This era's got fine food, good manners..."

"Outta the way!" a man said rudely as he barged past the Doctor and the floor suddenly sprang to life around them. Food stalls were set up and people bustled past the four time travellers to queue up with much chatter.

"One at a time." a dishevelled chef ordered his customers, then began taking food orders as the place became very busy. The Time Lords could only on in bemusement. "Oi, you mate!" the chef called to a spiky-haired man. "Stop pushing! Get back. I said, back!"

Rose took a moment to examine the fast food being offered. "Fine cuisine?" she grimaced.

"My watch must be wrong." a wrong-footed Doctor muttered, and checked his watch. "No, it's fine... weird. What about yours?" he asked Gazelle, who checked her watch too."

"Working fine." she replied. "My history must be wrong."

"No, you were spot on." the Doctor told her. He knew Human history like the back of his hand, and he knew that Gazelle was right about the year 200,000 being the time of the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire, so there was something very wrong about this place.

"They're all Human." Adam commented, looking at the people milling about. "What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?"

"Good question." Gazelle frowned. "Very good question."

The Doctor nodded his agreement then jovially put his arm around Adam's shoulder. "Adam, me ol' mate, you must be starving."

"No, I'm just a bit time sick." Adam groaned.

"Nah, yer just need a bit of grub." the Doctor said. "Oi, mate, how much is a kronk burger?" he asked the chef.

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart." the chef answered. "Now, join the queue."

"Money. We need money." the Doctor decided. "Have to use a cash point." He strode over to a cash point on the wall and used his sonic screwdriver on the screen. A thin metal strip fell out of the machine and the Doctor picked it up. "There yer go, pocket money." he said, handing Adam the strip. "Don't spend it all on sweets."

"How does it work?" Adam asked, looking at the metal strip bemusedly.

"Go an' find out! Stop nagging me!" an exasperated Doctor replied. "The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. Yer can't just read the guide book, you've gotta throw yerself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?" he shrugged, then shooed Adam away. "Stop asking questions, go on, do it!"
Adam turned and walked into the crowd. Rose made to follow him. "Off yer go, then!" the Doctor said to her. "Yer first date."

"You're gonna get a smack, you are." Rose scoffed, and went off after Adam.

The Time Lords watched their friend go, then their expressions turned serious. "So, if the date's right and our history's right, then maybe it's this place that's wrong." Gazelle mused.

"Hmm, I think it is." the Doctor replied thoughtfully. "Fancy doing a bit of sleuthing, Miss Marple?"

"Why not, Monsieur Poirot?" Gazelle replied with sprit.

Just then, they noticed two women walking past them chatting. One was a black women dressed smartly in a black trouser suit, while the other was Caucasian and wearing a flowery blouse. "Erm... this is gonna sound daft, but could yer tell us where we are?" the Doctor asked them.

"Floor 139." the black woman replied dryly, pointing to a huge sign on the wall. "Could they write it any bigger?"

"Floor 139 of what?" Gazelle asked.

"Must've been a hell of a party." the black woman remarked.

"Oh, you're on Satellite Five." the Caucasian woman told the Time Lords.

"What's Satellite Five?" the Doctor questioned.

"Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?" the black woman scoffed.

"Look at me, I'm stupid." the Doctor said pleasantly.

"Hang on, wait a minute, are you two a test?" the Caucasian woman asked, looking between the two Time Lords. "Some sort of management test thing?"

"Yes, you got us." Gazelle said, producing a wallet of psychic paper and showing it to the two women. "Very clever of you."

"We were warned about this in basic training." the Caucasian woman said to her partner. "All workers have to be versed in company training."

"Right..." the black woman said, turning to the Time Lords and putting on a business-like demeanour, "fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to floor 500, I'll do anything."

Why, what happens on floor 500?" the Doctor asked.

"The walls are made of gold." the black woman replied as though she was stating the obvious. "And you two should know... Mr and Mrs Management. So... this is what we do..." She led them to the wall-mounted screens. "Latest news; sandstorms on the New Venus Archipelago, 200 dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day... spacelane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant."

"I get it. You broadcast the news." the Doctor nodded.

"We are the news." the black woman replied proudly, while her partner just smiled nervously at the Time Lords. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it."

Little did they know that a camera was watching them from above.

~8~

The black woman's conversation with the Time Lords was being shown on a computer monitor. "600 channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere."

A pale-skinned, white-haired man in a suit glanced at the monitor and pondered for a moment. "Something... is wrong. Something fictional." He bend over the shoulder of a man who was covered in ice and pointed at the monitor showing live footage of the Doctor, Gazelle and the two women. "Those people..."

"Nothing happens in the whole Human Empire without it going through us." the black woman continued.

"Security check. Go deep." the pale man ordered.

~8~

"All staff are reminded that the canteen area now has self-cleaning tables." a loudspeaker announced on floor 139. "Thank you!"

Adam was sitting at a table when Rose came over. "Try this." she encouraged, offering him a paper cup. "It's called 'Zaphic'. It's nice. It's like a, um, slush puppy."

"What flavour?" Adam asked.

Rose took another sip. "Um... sort of beef?"

"Oh, my God." Adam shook his head, culture shock setting in. "It's like everything's gone. Home, family, everything."

Rose looked at him concernedly, then took her phone out of her pocket. "This helps." she told Adam. "The Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who's back home, ya mum and dad?"

"Yeah."

"Phone 'em up." Rose offered him the phone.

"But that's 198,000 years ago." Adam protested.

"Honestly, try it." Rose encouraged. "Go on!"

"Is there a code for Planet Earth?" Adam asked as he took the phone.

"Just dial!"

Adam did so and heard his mother's voice on an answering machine, "I'm sorry we're not in. Please leave a message. Thanks, bye!"

"It's on!" Adam stared, then he heard the tone. "Hi. It's... it's me." he began. "I've sort of gone... travelling. I met these people... and we've gone travelling together. But, um... I'm fine... and I'll call you later. Love you. Bye." And he hung up gleefully. "That is just..." He was cut off by an alarm sounding and everyone in the canteen began to leave, but Rose and Adam didn't know what to do, so they stayed where they were.

As the crowd thinned, they saw the Time Lords talking to their new friends. "Rose, Adam, over here." Gazelle called to them.

Rose immediately got up and joined them. Adam paused for a moment, holding Rose' phone. Then, seeming to reach a decision, he pocketed it and went off to join the others.

~8~

The pale man was waiting anxiously for the results of the security check. "Security check cleared." the computer announced.

"No, something's wrong. I can taste it." the man said. "Tiny little shift in the information. Someone down there shouldn't be here." He looked at the monitor, which showed the Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Adam standing with the two women. "Double check. Triple check. Follow them. " he ordered two icy people he had working at computers.

~8~

The four time travellers stood off to the side in a white-walled room with a reclined chair placed in the middle of a raised octagonal platform with hand-pads around the perimeter. The Caucasian woman sat cross-legged at one of these pads, while several other people did the same and the black woman stood in the middle of the octagonal platform. "Now, everybody behave." she addressed the room. "We have a management inspection." She turned to the Time Lords. "How do you two want it? By the book?"

"Oh, right from scratch, thanks." the Doctor replied.

The woman turned back to her colleagues. "Ok, so, ladies and gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Kadainy. That's Cathica with a 'C', in case you want to write to floor 500 praising me, and please, do..." The Doctor gave a non-committal jerk of his head. "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and be non-biased. That's company policy." She turned to smile at the Time Lords.

"Actually... it's the law." the Caucasian woman butted in.

"Yes, thank you, Suki." Cathica huffed, annoyed at the interruption. "Ok, keep it calm... don't show off for the guests... here we go." She lay down in the chair. "And... engage safety..."
The staff held their hands out over the pads in front of them, each of the wall panels lighting up as they did so. Cathica clicked her fingers and a literal door in her forehead opened, revealing her brain. The Doctor looked mildly disgusted, while Gazelle cringed, Rose looked alarmed and Adam leaned in for a better look. The staff placed their hands down on the pads and bowed their heads, going into some sort of meditative trance.
"And 3...2... and spike!" Cathica called, and a blue light spiked down from the device above her chair and into her brain, flowing into her.

"Compressed information, streaming into her." the Doctor observed. "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer."

"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius." Rose commented.

Gazelle shook her head. "No Human brain would be able to take all that knowledge." she said. "Her mind would burn up, so as soon as she closes the spike, she forgets it all. Her brain's essentially a computer processor."

"So, what about all these people round the edge?" Rose asked, circling the platform.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their heads, connecting them to her," the Doctor explained, walking around the other side of the platform, watching them all closely, "and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place." He finished his circuit of the room and leaned against the railing again, next to Gazelle. "Now that's what I call power."

None of them noticed a camera overhead, watching them.

~8~

"Analysis confirmed." the computer announced. "Security breach."

"I knew it!" the pale man said gleefully. "Which one? It's someone inside that room, which one?"

The camera went around the room on floor 139, going from person to person. "Isolating breach."

"Come on, show me." the man said impatiently. "Who is it?"

The camera focussed in on the quartet of time travellers standing in the corner of the room.

~8~

"You alright?" Rose asked Adam.

"I can see her brain." he breathed.

"D'ya wanna get out?" Rose offered.

"No... no." Adam replied hastily. "This technology, it's... it's amazing."

"This technology's wrong." Gazelle shook her head.

The two Humans looked at her. "Trouble?" Rose asked her.

"Looks like it." the Time Lady replied.

Just then, there was a shuddering sound and Suki twitched.

~8~

"That's it!" the pale man laughed triumphantly, pointing at the monitor. "Yes! She's the liar!" The camera was focussed in on Suki. "Intercept and scan. Gotcha!"

~8~

Suki gasped and lifted her hands off the pads as if she'd received an electric shock. The other members of staff were forced to lift their hands too and the wall lights went off, while compressed stream of information stopped streaming into Cathica's brain and the door in her forehead closed. "Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?" she grumbled.

"Sorry, must've been a glitch." Suki mumbled sheepishly, rubbing her hands.

~8~

"Her information's been tampered with." the pale man observed. "There's a second biography hidden underneath."
There was a sudden roaring sound from above and the man spun round and looked at the ceiling. "Yes, sir?"
More roaring came in response.
"Absolutely, sir. Yeah, well, her data was encrypted so there's no way we could've found her sooner."
An angry roar came this time.
"Yeah, I... sorry, sir." the man said meekly. "Absolutely." He spun urgently to an icy woman. "Get her up here. Now."

~8~

Inside the room where Suki, Cathica and the others were assembled, a loudspeaker sounded over the room and a projection sprang to life on the wall. "Promotion."

"This is it." Cathica prayed to herself. "Come on. God, make it me. Come on, say my name." The four time travellers looked at her with mild concern, but Cathica didn't notice. "Say my name, say my name..."

Her hopes were dashed when the projection announced, "Promotion for... Suki Macrae Cantrell." Suki's mouth dropped open while Cathica looked gutted. "Proceed to floor 500."

Suki stood up and stared at the projection as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I don't believe it... floor 500."

"How the hell did you manage that?!" Cathica demanded. "I'm above you!"

"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance... and they'd said yes!"

"That's so not fair!" Cathica sulked. "I've been applying to floor 500 for three years!"

"What's floor 500?" Rose asked the Time Lords.

"The walls are made of gold, apparently." Gazelle replied, a concerned frown on her face. It seemed suspicious to her that Suki glitched, then immediately got a promotion afterwards.

~8~

Suki was soon packed and ready to head upstairs. The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Cathica were stood by the lift to say goodbye to her. "Cathica, I'm gonna miss you!" Suki said. "Thank you!" she told the Time Lords.

"We didn't do anything!" the Doctor told her.

"Well, you two are my good luck charms!" Suki replied with a giggle.

"Alright, I'll hug anyone." the Doctor shrugged, and hugged Suki.

Gazelle followed suit. "Be careful, Suki." she told her quietly, a bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

Rose meanwhile went over to Adam, who was sitting a short distance away, looking lost. "Come on, it's not that bad." she encouraged him.

"What, with the... head thing?" he scoffed.

"Yeah, well she's closed it now!"

"Yeah, but... it's everything. It freaks me out." Adam whined. "And I need to... if I could just... cool down. Sort of, acclimatise."

"How d'ya mean?"

"Maybe... I could just go and sit on the observation deck?" Adam suggested. "Would that be alright?" Rose nodded. "Soak it in, ya know, pretend I'm a citizen of the 200,000."

"D'ya want me to come with ya?" Rose offered.

"No, no, you stick with the Doctor and Gazelle." Adam told her. "You'd rather be with them, anyway. It's gonna take a better man than me to get between you and them. Anyway, I'll be on deck." He got to his feet while Rose fumbled in her pocket.

"Here ya go... take the TARDIS key. Ya know, just in case it gets a bit too much." Rose offered, holding out her TARDIS key.

"Yeah, like it's not weird in there." Adam snorted, but he took the key anyway and Rose went back to join her friends, not noticing the devious smirk on Adam's face as he walked away.

"Oh, my God, I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting..." Suki fussed, grabbing her bag and stepping into the lift. "Say goodbye to Steve for me. Bye!" she called as the doors closed.

Cathica looked away sourly. "Good riddance." she muttered bitterly.

"Yer talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs." the Doctor remarked.

"We won't." Cathica replied. "Once you go to floor 500, you never come back."

The Time Lords shared a look at this, their suspicions growing. "Have you ever been up there?" Gazelle asked Cathica as they followed her through the canteen area.

"No. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion." Cathica replied. "No one gets to floor 500 except for the chosen few."

~8~

The lift arrived at floor 500 and Suki stepped out. As it turned out, the walls were not made of gold. Rather, they were coated in frost and snow. Suki grabbed her bag and cautiously began to explore the deserted corridor. Pushing aside some industrial curtains, she found herself in a spike room, similar to the one she worked in on floor 139. She shone a torch around and jumped out of her skin when she saw a decomposing skeleton slumped in the info-spike chair, along with several other skeletons sitting round the edge of the platform, their bony hands pressed onto the pads. Suki backed out of the room and saw a shaft of light shining across the floor. Having no other indication of where to go, Suki headed towards the light. Suki soon found herself in an office area, where several people were sat at computer screens, all looking frostily pale and sitting unsettlingly still. Also in the room was the pale man. He gave her a cheeky wave and she walked over to him "Who're you?" she asked.

"I'm the Editor." he replied.

"What's happening? There're... there's bodies out there." Suki blustered. "What's going on?"

"Well, while we're asking questions, would you please confirm your name." the Editor said and snapped his fingers.

A projection of Suki appeared between them, taken from when she'd applied for her job. "My name is Suki Macrae Cantrell. I was born 1-9-9' 8-9 in the Independent Republic of Morocco."

"Liar." the Editor said simply, causing Suki to look at him with something like defiance in her eyes.

"My hobbies include reading and archaeology." the recording continued. "I'm not an expert or anything, I just enjoy digging."

"Liar!" the Editor repeated. He snapped his fingers and the recording fast-forwarded to another point.

"I want to work for Satellite Five because my sister can't afford university. And the pay scheme is really good..."

"Liar!" the Editor shouted.
Suki just looked at him defiantly.
"Let's look at the facts, shall we?" the Editor said and snapped his fingers again and the projection changed to show Suki dressed in combat fatigues, firing an assault rifle and shouting orders. "Ah, hidden behind a genetic draft, but that's still you. Eva San Julienne. Last surviving member of the Freedom Fifteen. Hmm, self-declared anarchist, is that right?"

Suki, or rather Eva, suddenly raised a gun on the Editor. "Who controls Satellite Five?" she demanded, her voice now harsh and cold.

Looking shocked, the Editor slowly raised his hands in the air, then he burst out laughing and lowered them. "There's the truth!" he chortled.

"The Freedom Fifteen has been monitoring Satellite Five's transmissions." an unfazed Eva said. "We have absolute proof that the facts are being manipulated. You are lying to the people."

"Ohh, I love it. Say it again." the Editor sniggered.

"This whole system is corrupt." Eva stated, readying her gun. "Who do you represent?"

"I'm merely a humble slave." the Editor answered nonchalantly. "I answer to the Editor-in-chief."

"Well, who is he? Where is he?"

"He's overseeing everything. Literally everything." the Editor replied, causing Eva to narrow her eyes at him. "If you don't mind, I'm going to have to refer this upstairs." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ceiling.

The roaring sound came from above and Eva immediately pointed her gun at the ceiling. "What is that?" she blustered, sounding scared.

"Your boss." the Editor answered casually. "This has always been your boss. Since the day you were born."

Eva fired ineffectually at something on the ceiling, which bared down on her, causing her to scream.

~8~

Adam entered the observation deck on floor 139. He looked over the Earth for a few seconds, then turned to a computer behind him and placed his hand on the hand pad "Give me access." he said cautiously. The computer screen sprang to life. Adam snatched his hand away and paused. "I can learn anything." he realised. He looked round to make sure that no one was watching then placed his hand back on the computer. "Let's try... uh, computers. From the 21st century to the present date, give me the history of the microprocessor." The computer started to stream the information on screen. Adam was amazed. "Oh, my God." he breathed, getting an idea.

~8~

Cathica returned to the spike room, closely followed by the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose, the Time Lords continuing to fire questions at Cathica. "Look, they only give us 20 minutes maintenance, can't you two give it a rest?" she moaned.

"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" the Doctor quizzed as he settled himself down comfortably in the info-spike chair. Rose leaned on the back of it, while Gazelle stood beside them.

"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done," Cathica explained, "and then I... I came straight here. Satellite Five; you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." She eyed the trio suspiciously. "You guys aren't management, are you?"

"At last! She's clever!" the Doctor scoffed.

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."

"Don't you even ask?" Gazelle frowned.

"Well, why would I?" Cathica rolled her eyes.

"Because that's what journalists are supposed to do; they ask questions!" Gazelle retorted. "For starters, why's all the crew Human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"There's no aliens on board. Why?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know." Cathica shrugged. "No real reason, they're not banned or anything."

The Doctor looked around the empty room theatrically. "Then where are they?" he asked.

"I suppose immigration's tightened up." Cathica shrugged. "It's had to, what, with all the threats."

"What threats?" Gazelle probed.

Cathica looked lost. "I dunno... all of 'em. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just... lots of little reasons, that's all."

"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice." the Doctor stated.

"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it." Cathica scoffed. "We see everything."

"Not if Satellite Five was the source of the conspiracy." Gazelle countered. "There's something very wrong here. This society's the wrong shape, even the technology's wrong."

"It's cutting edge!" Cathica protested.

"It's backward!" the Doctor countered. "There's a great big door in yer head! You should've chucked this out years ago."

"So, what d'you two think is going on?" Rose asked the Time Lords.

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude." the Doctor told her. "It's the way people think. The Great & Bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?" Cathica bit back.

"Trust me. Humanity's been set back about 90 years." the Doctor replied. "When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"

"91 years ago..." Cathica frowned, just beginning to wonder if maybe something was going wrong with society.

~8~

Adam stood in front of the observation deck computer with Rose's mobile in his hand. "Mum, dad, keep this message, ok?" he said into the phone. "Whatever you do, don't erase it. Save it. You got that?" He placed his hand on the screen again and relayed the information being displayed on screen, "The microprocessor became redundant in the year 2019, when it was replaced by a system called SMT, that's Single Molecule Transcription..."
Suddenly, the information on the screen was replaced by the words 'Floor 16'. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" Adam groaned. "What're you doing? Come back! Come..." He gave the base of the computer a frustrated kick, then quickly looked behind him to see if anyone had seen him. They hadn't, so he turned back to the screen. "Why're you doing that?" he grumbled as 'Floor 16' continued to flash onscreen. "What's floor 16? What's down there?"

~8~

The lift doors opened on floor 16 and Adam stepped out. He found that floor 16 looked similar to a doctor's waiting area, with nurses in maroon scrubs sitting at desks talking to patients. Adam stopped at an unoccupied desk and spoke to the nurse behind it, "Sorry, um, floor 16. What d'you cover?"

"Medical non-emergency." the nurse replied.

"Right, wrong floor." Adam nodded. "I'm having technical difficulties. My screen keeps freezing, blocking me out."

"No, that's medical." the nurse told him. "There must be something wrong with your chip."

"Yes. Yeah, of course, yeah." Adam laughed, then paused. "I haven't got one."

"No wonder you can't get a screen to work." the nurse commented, and Adam nodded. "What are you... a student?"

Adam thought quickly. "Yes, yeah, I'm uh..." he sat down, "I'm on a research project from... the University of Mars."

The nurse rolled her eyes. "The Martian boondocks. Typical."

"Yep." Adam giggled apologetically.

"Well, you still need chipping."

"So... does that mean like... brain surgery?"

"That's an old fashioned phrase, but it's the same thing, yes."

"Oh... ok... never mind. But if I get a chip... that means I could use any computer."

"Absolutely." the nurse confirmed. "You'll... have to pay for it. They've stopped subsidising."

"Oh, right, sorry." Adam said. "Wasting your time. Thanks." He got up and made to leave, but stopped a few paces away when he suddenly remembered something. "Hold on... can I use this?" he asked, showing the nurse the credit stick the Doctor had given him earlier.

"That'll do nicely." the nurse smirked.

~8~

Adam was soon sat in an operating theatre with the nurses explaining the types of chip to him. "It all comes down to two basic types." she said, pushing him back into the chair and putting a strange contraption around his forehead. "Type one, the head chip. Inserted into the back of the skull, one hundred credits. There's the chip..." She placed the chip on her finger and showed it to Adam. "Tiny, invisible. Type two is the full info-spike."

"Oh, um... that's the..." Adam indicated his forehead and made sound effects to illustrate his point. "...thing."

"That's the one." the nurse confirmed. "It does cost ten thousand."

"Oh, well, I um... I couldn't afford it, then." Adam said.

"Not at all." the nurse replied, pulling out the credit stick. "Turns out you've got unlimited credit."

"No, but... I couldn't have it done. I mean... that's gotta hurt, hasn't it?"

"Painless. Contractual guarantee." the nurse placated.

"No, my mate's waiting upstairs, I can't have any major surgery."

"It takes 10 minutes. That sort of money buys a very fast pocosurgeon." the nurse said, circling Adam's chair in a somewhat predatory nature.

"No, but I... I couldn't, no, no. It's..."

But the nurse wasn't taking no for an answer. "Type one, you can interface with a simple computer. Type two, you are the computer. You can transmit any piece of information from the archive of Satellite Five, which is just about the history of the Human race. Now..." she leaned in closer to him. "Which one's it going to be?"

~8~

Cathica was anxious as she watched the Doctor scan the side of a maintenance door with his sonic screwdriver. "We're so gonna get into trouble." she fussed. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off."

"Cathica, do we look like we're worried about getting told off?" Gazelle retorted as she and Rose stood by the Doctor.

"You can't just vandalise the place, someone's gonna notice!" Cathica hissed urgently to the Doctor.

The Doctor ignored her and wrenched the door open to reveal a mass of wires and fibre-optics within. "Right then, it's all yours." he said to Gazelle and backed away, allowing the Time Lady to come forward and begin tinkering with the electronics.

~8~

"I don't understand." the Editor said as he watched Cathica and the time travellers on his monitors. "We did a full security scan. That man and those two women were there when we found Suki Macrae Cantrell. There were no indications about them. And yet here they are..." he knelt down by Eva's body, now hard at work at a terminal, "clearly acting outside the parameters." He looked back at the screen. "Fascinating." He leapt to his feet as the noise from the ceiling started again. "Yes, sir. Absolutely. At once." He went along the line of workers, speaking to each in turn, "Check them. Double check them. Triple check them. Quadruple."

~8~

"This is nothing to do with me, I'm going back to work." Cathica said as she began to walk away.

"Go on then, see yer!" the Doctor called, not really paying much attention as he was busy watching Gazelle work.

Cathica stopped. "Well, I can't just leave you, can I?!" she moaned.

"If you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down." Rose said to her. "It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?"

"I don't know, we keep asking, something to do with the turbine."

"'Something to do with the turbine.'" the Doctor said mockingly, earning himself a kick in the shin from Gazelle as her hands were full with wires and she couldn't verbally scold him as her sonic screwdriver was clamped between her teeth.

"Well, I don't know!" Cathica snapped back.

"Exactly!" the Doctor shot back. "I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose, look at Rose." He gestured to the blonde. "Rose is asking the right kind of questions."

"I thank you." Rose smirked.

"Why's it so hot?" the Doctor pressed.

"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" Cathica scoffed.

"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important." the Doctor said simply, and watched as Gazelle tore a bunch of wires out and used her sonic screwdriver on their terminals.

~8~

The Editor was waiting for the results of the security scan. "Security scan complete." the computer announced at last.

"Who, who are they?" the Editor asked impatiently. "Who is he?"

"He is no one."

The Editor laughed, not comprehending. "What does that mean?"

"He is no one."

"What, you mean he has a fake ID?"

"He has no identification."

"But everyone's registered. We have a census for the entire Empire."

"He is no one."

"What, he doesn't exist? Not anywhere?"

"He is no one."

"What about the brunette?"

"She is no one."

"Well, the blonde, then?"

"She is no one."

"All three of them?" the Editor said incredulously. "Well! We all know what happens to non-entities." he grinned deviously. "They get promoted. Bring 'em up." he ordered a drone.

~8~

Gazelle finished her work on the wiring. "Ok, we're in the mainframe." she told the Doctor, who then typed something into a wall monitor.

"Here we go, Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout." he told Cathica, turning the monitor to her.

Cathica examined the screen. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange... and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong." the Doctor stated knowingly.

Cathica turned back to the screen. "I suppose..." she muttered.

"Why, what is it?" Rose asked.

"The ventilation system." Cathica replied. "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out... channelling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top." the Doctor finished.

"Floor 500." Gazelle agreed. "So something up there's generating a terrific amount of heat."

"Well, I dunno about you lot, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party." Rose said. "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

"You can't, you need a key." Cathica reminded.

"Keys are just codes, and we've got the codes right here." the Doctor countered, tapping a few keys on the screen. "Here we go, override 215.9."

"How come it's giving you the code?" Cathica frowned.

"Someone up there likes us." the Doctor replied, looking at a security camera on the ceiling, which was focussed on the quartet.

~8~

The Editor laughed to himself as he heard the Doctor's words. He was looking forward to meeting these nosy strangers.

~8~

Adam's head-chipping had now been completed. "I told you it was painless." the nurse told him as he ran his hand over his forehead. "No scaring, you see? Perfect success."

"How do I activate it?" Adam asked.

"It's a personal choice." the nurse replied. "Some people whistle... I know one man who triggers it with Oh, Danny Boy. But you're set on default for now. That's a click of the fingers."

"So you mean I just..."

"Click." the nurse confirmed.

~8~

The lift doors opened on floor 139 and the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose stepped inside. Cathica stopped outside. "Come on, come with us." Rose encouraged her.

"No way!" Cathica said hastily.

"Bye!" the Doctor waved cheerfully.

"Well, don't mention my name." Cathica fussed. "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!" And she stalked off.

"That's her gone." the Doctor commented to the remaining two women. "Adam's given up. Looks like it's just the three of us, as usual."

"Yeah." Rose said.

"Good." the Doctor smiled.

"Yep." Rose agreed.

"Three's company, four's a crowd." Gazelle quipped, and they all grinned as the Doctor slotted a card into the controls and the doors closed.

~8~

Adam clicked his fingers and a door in his forehead opened, revealing his brain. He fingered the shutters for a few seconds, then clicked his fingers again to close them and flopped back in his seat. "Oh, my God. I'm gonna be sick." he groaned and wretched. A vomit-coloured ice cube popped out of his mouth. He took between his fingers and looked at it in confusion.

"Special offer. We installed the vomit-o-matic at the same time." the nurse told him. "Nano-termites have been placed in the lining of your throat. In the event of sickness..." she held out a bowl, "they freeze the waste."

Adam placed the ice cube in the bowl and peered at it, severely shaken.

~8~

The lift arrived at floor 500 and the three time travellers stepped out. "The walls are not made of gold." the Doctor commented as he surveyed the room.

"You should go back downstairs." Gazelle told Rose, zipping up her jacket.

"Tough." the blonde retorted, striding in.

"Stay close, then." Gazelle advised, and the trio began exploring the floor.

They soon found themselves in the Editor's office, where he was watching the screens. "I started without you." he told them. "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information in the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three... you don't exist!" The trio looked at him and he laughed. "Not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you all walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"

Then Rose spotted Eva sitting at one of the screens and rushed over to her immediately. "Suki! Suki!" She knelt next to her, but Eva didn't respond. "Hello? Can ya hear me? Suki?" Still no response. "What've you done to her?!" she demanded to the Editor.

"I think she's dead, Rose." Gazelle replied grimly. "They all are." She looked at the other people lining the room.

"But they're working." Rose stared.

"They've all got chips in their heads, and the chips keep going. Like puppets." the Doctor said in disgust.

"Ohhh! You're full of information!" the Editor cheered. "But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no one." he laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, 'cos we're off." the Doctor glared. "Nice to meet yer."

"Rose, come on." Gazelle called to their companion, and both Time Lords turned to leave.

Suddenly, two of the Editor's drones appeared out of nowhere and restrained them. Rose got up to intervene, but Eva grabbed her arm. "Tell me who you are!" the Editor persisted.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, we're hardly gonna say, are we?" the Doctor retorted.

The Editor just smirked. "Well, perhaps my Editor-in-Chief can convince you otherwise." he said.

"And who's that?" Gazelle glared.

"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire." the Editor replied. "In fact, it's not actually Human at all. It's merely a place where Humans happen to live."
Angry growling came from above.
"Yeah, sorry." the Editor winced. "It's a place where Humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." He snapped his fingers and pointed at the ceiling.

The time travellers looked up and saw a huge, slobbering lump of meat with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth. "What is that?" Rose quivered.

"That thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" Gazelle grimaced, she and the Doctor staring at the creature in disgust.

"That 'thing' as you put it, is in charge of the Human race." the Editor retorted, causing the Time Lords to look at him in alarm. "For almost a hundred years, Mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news. Edited by my superior, your master, and Humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max." he finished gleefully.

The Doctor smiled sarcastically and nodded.

~8~

Adam was back on floor 139. He swiftly stepped aside as he saw Cathica approaching. She didn't notice him however, as she was too busy mulling over what the Time Lords had told her. She went over to the computer which they'd hacked earlier. She committed the code to memory then entered the lift to go to floor 500.

~8~

The Editor's drones had forced the three Time Lords onto a rack with manacles; the Doctor being restrained in the middle, Gazelle on his left and Rose on his right. The Editor was monologuing, enjoying every moment of this, "If we create a climate of fear... then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right place repeated often enough can destabilise an economy... invent an enemy... change a vote."

"So, all the people on Earth are like, slaves." Rose glared.

"Well, now. There's an interesting point." the Editor said casually. "Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"

"Yes." the Time Lords answered in unison.

"Aw." the Editor pouted. "I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm gonna get, 'yes'?"

"Yes." the Doctor grunted.

"You're no fun." the Editor chortled.

"Let me out of these manacles, you'll find out just how much fun I am." the Doctor retorted.

"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" the Editor smirked to Gazelle.

"Not just him." the Time Lady retorted. "I gave a man a black eye the other day, and I'm greatly tempted to do the same to you. Might do wonders for that pasty mug of yours!"

The Editor just laughed at the threat. "But, come on, isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."

"Ya can't hide something on this scale." Rose pointed it. "Somebody must've noticed."

"From time to time, someone, yes." the Editor said casually. "But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain... I can see the smallest doubt, and crush it." He made a fist to emphasise his point.

~8~

Cathica stepped out of the lift on floor 500 and strode onto the floor.

~8~

Adam snuck into the spike room on floor 139, a greedy plan hatching in his brain.

~8~

Cathica crept up to the Editor's office on floor 500 and caught the Doctor's eye, but she didn't reveal herself to their captor, who was too busy monologuing to pay any attention. "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual. When of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."

"What about you?" Rose pointed out. "You're not a Jagra... uh... a... belly thing."

"Jagrafess." the Doctor corrected.

"Jagreafess." Rose nodded. "You're not a Jagrafess. You're Human." she told the Editor.

"Yeah, well simply being Human doesn't pay very well." he retorted.

"But you couldn't have done all this on ya own."

"No, I represent a consortium of banks." the Editor replied. "Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um... install himself."

"No wonder, a creature that size." the Doctor remarked, looking up at the Jagrafess. Cathica followed his gaze and saw the creature for herself. "What's his life span?"

"3000 years." the Editor replied.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat." the Doctor said for Cathica's benefit. "That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs; Jagrafess stays cool, stays alive. Satellite Five's one great big life support system."

"Very clever, I'll give ya that." Gazelle conceded to the Editor.

~8~

Adam settled himself down on the info-spike chair on floor 139 and opened the door in his head, then he dialled his home phone on Rose's mobile. "It's me again. Don't wipe this message. It's just gonna sound like white noise, but save it because I can translate it. Ok? 3, 2, 1... and spike."

Compressed information began to stream into his brain.

~8~

"But that's why you're so dangerous." the Editor said to the three time travellers. "Knowledge is power, but you three remain unknown." He gave a small laugh, then snapped his fingers. The manacles administered electric shocks to his three captives. "Who are you three?"

The shocks weren't so bad for Gazelle, as her gloves saved her from the worst of it, but the Doctor and Rose weren't so lucky. "Leave them alone!" the Time Lady ground out. "I'm Gazelle, he's the Doctor and she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing. We're just three travellers passing through."

"Tell me who you are!" the Editor insisted as he stopped the shocks.

"She just said!" the Doctor ground out.

"Yeah, but who do you work for?" the Editor persisted. "Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly..." He stopped suddenly, then smirked maliciously. "Time Lords."

"What?" the Doctor blinked.

"Oh, yes!" the Editor cackled. "The last two Time Lords in their travelling machine. "Oh, with their little Human girl from so long ago. " He reached out to touch Rose's face, but she jerked her head away with a vicious glare.

"You don't know what ya talking about." Gazelle tried to wave him off.

"Time travel." the Editor continued.

"Someone's been telling you lies." the Doctor insisted.

"Young master Adam Mitchell?" the Editor smirked, and clicked his fingers.

A projection of Adam in the info-spike chair came up. He was writhing in pain and shouting as the compressed information continued to stream into his head. "Oh, my God! His head!" Rose stared in shock.

"What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done?!" the Doctor shouted.

"They're reading his mind!" Gazelle realised. "The stupid idiot's telling 'em everything!"

"And through him I know everything about you." the Editor crowed. "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you two have infinite knowledge, Doctor, Gazelle. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. TARDIS."

"You'll never get yer hands on her!" the Doctor vowed. "I'll die first!"

"Me too!" Gazelle added defiantly.

"You can both die all you like." the Editor waved them off. "I've got the key."

The projection showed Rose's TARDIS key slowly floating out of Adam's jean pocket and dangling mockingly in front of his face. "How the hell did he get that?!" Gazelle burst out.

The Doctor rounded on Rose. "You and your boyfriends!" he growled, and the blonde bowed her head in shame.

"Today, we are the headlines." the Editor said smugly. "We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."

"And no one's gonna stop you." the Doctor ground out, indirectly addressing Cathica, who was still listening from her hiding place. "'Cos you've bred a Human race that doesn't ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold."

Cathica turned and walked away, full of determination. She knew what she had to do, so she made her way to floor 500's spike room, tossed aside the skeleton on the info-spike chair and sat down on it herself. "Disengage safety." she ordered, and the wall panels lit up.

~8~

Alarms went off in the Editor's office, wiping the smug smile off his face. "What's happening?" he fussed, rushing over to check the computers.

~8~

"Maximum access." Cathica ordered the computer. "Override floor 139."

~8~

The compressed information stopped streaming into Adam's head and the TARDIS key fell to the floor.

~8~

Cathica took a breath, stealing herself for what she was about to do. "And... spike!"

The information flowed into her.

~8~

"Someone's disengaged the safety." the Editor growled, and clicked his fingers. The projection showed Cathica in her info-spike chair. "Who's that?!" the Editor stared.

"It's Cathica!" Rose cheered.

"And she's thinking!" the Doctor grinned. "She's using what she knows!"

"Terminate her access!" the Editor ordered Eva.

"Everything we told her about Satellite Five; the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it." the Doctor explained to Rose.

"And it's working." Gazelle said, noticing the icicles beginning to melt. "The heat's coming back up here."

"I said, terminate!" the Editor continued to order Eva, who didn't seem to be complying. "Burn her mind!" Eva still wouldn't obey, so he placed his hands over hers and attempted to do it himself.

~8~

Cathica wasn't giving up without a fight. "Oh, no you don't." she growled. "You should've promoted me years back!" She closed her eyes and concentrated with all of her willpower.

~8~

All of the screens in the office suddenly exploded in showers of sparks and the drones all fell lifeless to the floor, their chips deactivated by the energy surge. The same surge deactivated Gazelle's manacles and she began to wiggle out of them. The Editor meanwhile tried to get his drones up again, but it was no use.

"She's venting the heat up here." the Doctor grinned. "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano."

The Jagrafess roared furiously.
"Yes!" the Editor blustered. "Uh... I'm trying, sir, but, I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea..." He shoved Eva's body aside and tried to operate the computer himself.

Gazelle managed to get free of her manacles and she used her sonic screwdriver to release Rose and the Doctor from their restraints, while the Jagrafess continued to roar and snap at them helplessly. Once he was free, the Doctor called to the Editor, "Oi, mate, wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang!" Lumps of meat began to fall from the Jagrafess. "See yer in the headlines!" the Doctor finished, then he and the women made their escape.

The Jagrafess began to pulsate horribly and glow red while it roared in pain.
"Um, actually, sir," the Editor blustered, "if it's all the same to you, I think I'll resign. Bye, then!" He made to leave, but Eva grabbed his ankle and tripped him up, preventing him from escaping. "Let go of me!" he growled.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose ran across floor 500, dodging the falling chunks of ice.

~8~

"Let go of me! Let go of me!" the Editor growled, trying to free his ankle from Eva's grip, but she stood her ground and refused to let her murderer to escape.

The Jagrafess swelled horribly. The Editor screamed in terror, then the Jagrafess exploded, taking everyone in the room with it.

~8~

Down the corridor, the time travellers heard the bang. They entered the spike room and the Doctor clicked his fingers, closing the door in Cathica's head. She opened her eyes to see the Time Lords smiling down at her.

~8~

As a new dawn rose over Planet Earth, the Doctor, Gazelle and Cathica were sitting at a table in floor 139's canteen area, while Rose leaned against the bar behind them. "We're just gonna go." the Doctor told Cathica. "I hate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage."

"You'll have to stay and explain it." Cathica said. "No one's gonna believe me."

"Oh, I think they might just start believing a lot of things now." Gazelle shrugged. "The Human race should hopefully accelerate and get back to normal.

"What about your friend?" Cathica asked, eyeing Adam, who was loitering by the TARDIS.

"He's not our friend." the Doctor said darkly. He and Gazelle had checked the computer logs and found out what Adam had been trying to do with his chip. They both got to their feet and strode towards Adam with cold looks on their faces.

"Now, don't..." Rose began, but the Time Lords ignored her and continued to advance on Adam.

"I'm alright now." he said meekly, trying to sweep the whole thing under the carpet. "Much better. I've got the key." He held up Rose's TARDIS key and Gazelle promptly snatched it out of his hand. "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" Adam chuckled feebly. The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulder while Gazelle unlocked the TARDIS. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because you were in charge." Adam tried, unable to take responsibility for his own actions.

The Doctor ignored Adam and frog-marched him into the TARDIS.

~8~

Everyone was silent during the flight away from Satellite Five. The Time Lords worked the controls, pointedly ignoring Adam, who sat nervously on the jump seat, while Rose stood nearby, wisely keeping quiet. When the TARDIS stopped, the Doctor frog-marched Adam out and into a suburban living room. "It's my house." Adam laughed in relief. "I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!" He turned to look at the two glaring Time Lords. "Blimey. I thought you were gonna chuck me out of an airlock."

"Is there something else you wanna tell us?" the Doctor asked bluntly.

"No. Um... what d'ya mean?"

The Doctor strode over to the phone and picked it up. "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." Adam bowed his head at being rumbled and could only look on guiltily as the Doctor put the phone down and flashed his sonic screwdriver at it until it blew up. "That's it, then. See yer." And he walked back towards the TARDIS.

"How d'yer mean, 'See yer'?"

"As in 'goodbye'." Gazelle told him coldly.

"But... what about me?" Adam protested. "Yer can't just go. I've got my head. I've got a chip type two. My head opens."

"What, like this?" the Doctor clicked his fingers, causing Adam's head to open.

"Don't." Adam grumbled, clicking his fingers to close his head.

"Don't do what?" the Doctor asked innocently, clicking his fingers again.

"Stop it!" Adam snapped, closing his head again.

"Alright now, Doctor, that's enough. Stop it." Rose reasoned.

"Thank you." Adam nodded, thinking Rose was on his side. Rose then clicked her fingers, opening Adam's head again. "Oi!" he grumbled.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Rose sniggered as Adam closed his head again.

"The whole of history could've changed because of you." the Doctor told Adam sternly.

"I just wanted to help."

"You were helping yourself." Gazelle retorted. "You were trying to use information from the future to profit yourself, just like Van Statten. You should consider yourself lucky the rest of our people are no longer around. They took things like that very seriously, and they would not be as lenient with you as we're being."

"And I'm sorry." Adam whined. "I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am, but yer can't just leave me like this."

Gazelle huffed and flashed her sonic screwdriver at Adam's head. "There, I've deadlocked the chip." she told him. "Now it can't be opened by accident, but just to be on the safe side, ya might wanna live a quiet life. Keep out of trouble, stay normal, be unseen. Good luck with that." And she went back inside the TARDIS, having washed her hands of the troublesome Human.

"But I wanna come with you three." Adam protested.

"We only take the best. We've got Rose." the Doctor told him bluntly, and followed Gazelle inside the TARDIS.

Just then, Adam heard the front door. "Oh, my God."

"Who's that? Jeff, is that you?" the voice of Adam's mother called from the hallway.

"It's me, mum, don't come in, wait there a minute." Adam called back.

"Oh, my Lord! You never told me you were coming home!" Mrs Mitchell said excitedly. "Hold on, I'll just take me coat off. You should've told me you were coming home. I would've got yer favourite tea in."

"Rose.. take me with you." Adam whispered urgently to Rose.

Rose just turned on her heel and went inside the TARDIS without a second glance back. Adam had made his bed, now he had to sleep in it.

~8~

The Time Lords soon had the TARDIS back in the Time Vortex. "I'm sorry." Rose ventured nervously. "I was the one who invited him along."

"It wasn't your fault, Rose." Gazelle assured her friend. "You didn't know he was gonna do that. Adam was selfish and tried to use time travel for his own gain. We know you would never do anything like that."

"Did ya mean it?" Rose asked the Doctor. "When ya said I was one of the best, did ya mean it?"

"Of course I did." the Doctor smiled. "I handpick my companions very carefully. 900 years, and Adam's the first one I've ever had to kick out." he commented.

"And let's hope he's the last." Gazelle replied.

"How many people have ya had travelling with ya, anyway?" Rose asked the Doctor. She knew it was naïve to assume that she was the very first person to travel with the Doctor in his long lifetime, but now that he'd confirmed it, her curiosity had been pipped.

"Right then, onwards and upwards." the Doctor said briskly, changing the subject. "You ladies fancy a trip to Woman Wept?"

"Fine by me." Gazelle shrugged.

"What's Woman Wept?" Rose asked.

"Just you wait and see." the Doctor smiled, a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, if it's anything like Justica, I'm telling you now, I am not setting foot outside this box!" Rose said with spirit.

Gazelle just smiled. "Don't worry, Rose. Woman Wept is nothing like Justica. You're gonna love it, I promise."

"Well then, what're we waiting for?" Rose said happily.

And with that, the trio set off on their next adventure.

Chapter Text

Rose wandered into the TARDIS' lounge, where the Doctor and Gazelle were both lounging on the settee, watching a movie on the widescreen telly. "Ah, morning, Rose." Gazelle greeted their friend. "What's that?" she asked, noticing something in Rose's arm. It was a photo of a man with auburn hair, brown eyes and a cheeky grin

"Peter Alan Tyler, my dad." Rose explained. "The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th of September 1954, died 7th of November 1987. He was always having adventures. He'd have loved to see me now, that's what mum always says. So, I was thinking... could we? Could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"

"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?" the Doctor asked.

"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of times or something, then never mind, we'll just leave it." Rose mumbled.

"No, no, we can do it if we're careful." Gazelle told her. "We're just worried about you."

"I wanna see him." Rose said determinedly.

The Time Lords got to their feet. "Your wish is our command. But be careful what yer wish for." the Doctor said, switching the telly off.

The trio all made their way to the console room. "Where d'ya wanna start?" Gazelle asked Rose as she and the Doctor took up positions at the console.

"Um, their wedding." Rose replied. "3rd of September 1985, Southwark Registry Office."

"Right, Southwark Registry Office it is." the Doctor said, inputting co-ordinates.

~8~

The three time travellers sat at the back of Southwark Registry Office, witnessing the marriage of Jackie and Pete.

"I, Peter Alan Tyler... take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice..." the Registrar instructed.

"I, Peter Alan Tyler..." Pete began, "take you, Jacqueline Suzanna... Suzette, Anita..." he trailed off, embarrassed at his mistake.

Jackie rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, just carry on." she told the Registrar. "It's good enough for Lady Di."

The Doctor and Gazelle both grinned at Pete's little slip-up and turned to Rose. "I thought he'd be taller." she commented, and Gazelle squeezed her hand in comfort.

"... to be my lawful wedded wife, to love and behold 'till death do us part." the Registrar instructed Pete, who managed to repeat it successfully this time.

~8~

After the wedding, Rose and the Time Lords quietly returned to the TARDIS. "He died so close to home." Rose sighed. "He was going to a friend's wedding and he got hit by a car. Mum said it was a hit and run. He was dead when the ambulance got there. No one was with him. He died alone. Mum wished that someone had been there for him. I wanna be that someone, so he doesn't die alone."

"November the 7th?" the Doctor asked.

"1987." Rose confirmed.

The Doctor in-putted the co-ordinates and Gazelle started the TARDIS' engines. Rose watched them apprehensively, then looked to the door.

~8~

On 7th of November 1987, the TARDIS materialised on a South London suburban street. The trio stepped out of the box and looked around. It was a still, quiet sort of day. "That's so weird. The day my father died... I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy, it's just an ordinary day." Rose murmured.

"The past is another country." the Doctor said sagely. "1987's just the Isle of Wight."

"Now are you absolutely sure about this?" Gazelle asked Rose. "No one should see a loved one die."

"Yeah." Rose nodded, and the trio walked on.

They were soon standing on the curb of a road near the Powell Estate, with Rose in the middle, the Doctor on her left and Gazelle on her right. "This is it, Jordan Road." Rose explained. "He'd been round to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said 'that stupid vase'." She fought back tears as a green Ford Escott rounded the corner with Pete Tyler at the wheel. "He got out of his car and crossed the road." Rose murmured as they watched Pete's car pull up on the curb nearby. "Oh, God. This is it."

The Time Lords took her hands as they watched Pete, oblivious to what was in store for him, pick up the vase from the passenger seat. He then got out of the car, unaware that a boy racer in a beige car had come around the corner and was now approaching at full speed. Pete stepped back right into the car's path, not noticing it until it was too late. Rose hid her head behind the Doctor's shoulder as she heard the screech of brakes, followed by a thud and the sound of the vase shattering. She lifted her head to see the beige car speeding away and her father lying on the ground, twitching.

"Got to him. Quick." the Doctor told her gently, but Rose had lost her nerve. She turned and ran off round the corner.

The Time Lords followed her and they all leaned back against the wall as they heard sirens inn the distance. "It's too late now." Rose sniffled. "By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead." The Doctor looked away in respectful silence, while Gazelle gave Rose a comforting hug. "He can't die on his own. Can I try again?" Rose pleaded.

"Rose, we can't." Gazelle told her gently. "It's risky to have two sets of us in the same place at the same time."

"Please?" Rose sobbed.

The Doctor and Gazelle shared a look. They knew it was a bad idea, but neither of them could bring themselves to say no.

~8~

After another quick hop in the TARDIS, the trio were stood round the corner, watching the first set of themselves standing by the curb. "Right, that's you and us." the Doctor told Rose. "It's a very bad idea, two sets of being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and they follow, then go to yer dad."

They watched Pete's car pull up for the second time and heard the first Rose say "Oh, God, this is it."

"I can't do this." the present Rose quivered.

"You don't have to do anything ya don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." Gazelle told her kindly but firmly.

Rose watched her father get out of his car, breathing heavily. Then, acting before thinking, she ran out.

"Rose, no!" the Doctor called.

"No! Don't!" Gazelle cried.

Rose ignored their cries. She ran past the first set of the trio and knocked her father out of the way of the oncoming car. They both tumbled to the ground and the vase rolled across the road, unscathed. The first set of the trio looked bewildered for a few seconds, then disappeared into thin air, while the Time Lords' present selves looked on in mounting horror.

Rose stared at her father as he picked himself up. "I did it!" she breathed. "I saved ya life!"

"Blimey, did ya see the speed of it?!" Pete commented. "Did you get his number?"

Rose continued to stare at him. "I really did it. Oh, my God, look at you! You're alive! That car was gonna kill ya!"

"Well, give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't gonna walk under it, was I?" Pete deadpanned.

"I'm Rose." the blonde said, looking at him expectantly.

"That's a coincidence." Pete remarked. "That's my daughter's name."

"That's a great name." Rose smiled. "Good choice, well done."

There was a few seconds silence between them, then Pete spoke up again, "Right, I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to."

"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"

"Yeah, are you going?"

Rose thought for a moment "Yeah."

"You, ya friend and her boyfriend need a lift?" Pete asked, gesturing to the Time Lords.

Rose looked happily over to see that the Doctor was absolutely furious, while Gazelle looked worried, as if something terrible was about to happen.

~8~

The door to the Tyler flat opened and Pete led the three time travellers inside. "There we go." he said as he put the vase down on the sideboard. "Sorry about the mess. If ya want a cup of tea, the kitchen's just down there, milk's in the fridge... well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would ya put the milk? Mind you, there's always the windowsill outside. I always thought if someone invented a windowsill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yogurt... make a lot of money outta that..."

Rose still couldn't take her eyes off him. She smiled at him in delight as he rambled, while the Time Lords just nodded politely.

"sell it to students and things." Pete continued. "I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me..." And he went off into the master bedroom to get changed.

Rose looked around the living room. "All the stuff mum kept." she sighed. "His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard, she used to show me when she'd had a bit to drink."

Neither Time Lord said anything, they just leaned against the doorframe.

"And here it is. On display, where it should be." Rose continued happily.

The Time Lords still didn't respond. The Doctor just watched her with his arms folded and a dark look on his face, while Gazelle examined a wedding invitation taped up on the wall.

Rose picked up a trophy and showed it to them "Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot." she examined it for a few more seconds, then replaced it. Her eye was drawn by a group of large bottles in the corner of the room, so she bent down to look at them "Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call 'em. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He's so clever." Still not gaining any response from her friends, she looked around and spotted some blueprints on the coffee table "Solar power. Mum said he was gonna do this. Now he can!"

She looked to the Time Lords smiling, but neither of them smiled back. "'Kay, look, I'll tell him you're not a couple."

The Doctor finally spoke, his voice cold and suspicious, "When we first met, I said 'travel with us in space.' You said no. Then Gazelle said 'time machine.' Is this why you went with us?!"

"It wasn't some big plan." Rose defended. "I just saw it happening and I thought... I can stop it."

The Doctor shook his head disdainfully. "I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known: it's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."

"So it's ok when you two go to other times, and you two save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?" Rose bit back.

"We know what we're doing, you don't." the Doctor told her. "Two sets of us being there made it a vulnerable point."

"But he's alive!"

"Rose, our entire planet died." Gazelle said, trying to make Rose see reason. "My whole family, the Doctor's whole family. D'ya think it's never occurred to us to go back and save them? Believe me, we would if we could, but we can't. That's not how the laws of time work. Some deaths have to happen, no matter how much we wish they didn't."

"But it's not like I've changed history." Rose argued. "Not much, I mean... he's never gonna be a world leader, he's not gonna start World War Three or anything."

"Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before." the Doctor said, taking a few steps towards her "An ordinary man, that's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive."

"What, would ya rather him dead?" Rose spat.

"Of course not." Gazelle tried to pacify her. "That's not what we're saying, but..."

"No, I get it!" Rose cut her off, too stubborn to listen to reason. "For once, you two ain't the most important people in my life."

"Is that what you think this is about?! Well, if that's what you think, let's see how yer get on without us then, give us the key." the Doctor demanded, having lost patience with the Human.

"What key?"

"The TARDIS key." the Doctor said, holding out his hand. "If we're so insignificant, give it me back."

"Alright then, I will." Rose shot back, and slapped the key into the Doctor's hand.

"Well, you've got what you wanted so that's goodbye then." the Doctor said harshly, and with that, he turned on his heel and stalked off towards the door. Gazelle shook her head at Rose and followed him.

"Ya don't scare me." Rose said, pursuing them down the hallway. "I know how sad you are, both of ya! You'll be back in a minute, or you'll both just hang around outside the TARDIS waiting for me." The Time Lords ignored her and went outside. "And I'll make ya wait a long time!" Rose shouted after them, then slammed the door shut and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

Pete poked his head around the bedroom door "Friend trouble?" he asked.

~8~

Outside, the Doctor leaned on the balcony rail and exhaled "She has no idea of the damage she could've done." he scowled.

Gazelle rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "We might be lucky." she said. "Pete Tyler's death isn't a fixed point in time."

"I know, but we made it a vulnerable point." the Doctor replied worriedly.

Gazelle shared his concerns. Although everything seemed fine at the moment, both Time Lords knew that Rose's meddling with time could have serious side-effects that were yet to manifest themselves.

"We'd better get back to the TARDIS, see if we can damage control, and let Rose stew for a while." the Doctor decided, and so the two Time Lords set off.

~8~

Presently, Rose was picking up peanut shells off the coffee table and putting them on a plate when Pete entered, now dressed in a suit. "Excuse me, d'ya mind? What're ya tidying up for?" he questioned.

"Sorry..." Rose mumbled. "Force of habit."

"Listen, don't worry about them. Friends have rows all the time."

"I think they left me." Rose sighed, sitting down on the settee.

"What, a pretty girl like you? If I was going out with you..."

"Stop right there!" Rose cried.

"I was just saying."

"I know what ya saying, and we're not going there. At no point are we going anywhere near there. You aren't even aware that there exists. I don't even wanna think about there, and believe me, neither do you. There... for you... is like... pfft, it's like the Bermuda triangle."

"Blimey, you know how to flatter a bloke." Pete remarked dryly.

Rose jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket. "Right, are we off?" she asked, offering her arm to Pete.

"So that wouldn't be a mixed signal at all?" he asked, gesturing to her arm.

"Absolutely not."

Pete sighed and took her arm resignedly. "I'll take ya back to the loony bin where you belong." he said as they walked to the door. "Still, I'm sure I've met ya somewhere before..."

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle rounded the corner to the road where the TARDIS was parked. The Doctor had cooled down, but he was still worried. Gazelle was constantly looking at the sky, an unsettling feeling coming over her. "Theta, I know I'm probably just being paranoid, but I swear it feels like we're being watched." she said uneasily.

"Yeah, me too." the Doctor replied, casting a look around, but he saw nothing. "Better do a scan and see what's been changed." He unlocked the TARDIS' door and opened it to find that the interior of the ship had gone. It was just an ordinary police box.

Alarmed, the Doctor stepped inside and began frantically feeling around the walls, while Gazelle just stared wide-eyed at the empty shell. "This is impossible." she breathed. "Unless..."

The Doctor stepped out and met her gaze, them both coming to the same realisation. "Rose!" they both exclaimed, and ran back the way they came.

~8~

Meanwhile, Pete was driving his car with Rose in the passenger seat, while Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up played on the radio. "So, what work are you doing now?" Rose asked her father.

"Oh, now, brilliant idea, you know Henderson's Tower?" Pete asked enthusiastically.

"No."

"Exactly! It's going to be the next Rubik's Cube, only it's from Basingstoke. I met this bloke at the Horse's, and he's cutting me in on the copyright."

"But I've never heard of Henderson's Tower." Rose said.

"You will do!" Pete grinned.

"But I haven't, which means... it's not gonna work."

"If it doesn't, I'm penniless." Pete remarked.

"But... I thought you were a proper businessman, that's what I was told." Rose frowned.

"Oh, I wish!" Pete scoffed. "Ah, I do a bit of this, a bit of that, I scrape by."

"Right..." Rose muttered. "I must've heard wrong. So really you're a bit of a... a Del Boy?"

"Oh, shoot me down in flames. You're not related to my wife by any chance?"

Rose suddenly realised something. "Oh, my God... she's gonna be at the wedding."

"What, Jackie? Do ya know her?"

"Sort of."

"Are you two mates then?"

"We... talk. Sometimes."

"What's she told ya about me, then?"

Rose smiled, remembering what her mother used to tell her about Pete. "She said she picked the most fantastic man in the world."

"Must be a different Jackie, then." Pete muttered. "She'd never say that." Suddenly, the radio changed to playing a hip-hop song. "This stuff goes right over my head." Pete grumbled.

"That's not out yet." Rose frowned, recognising the song as one that Mickey liked, a song that was definitely not from 1987.

"Good job and all." Pete grimaced, turning the radio off.

Rose reached for her mobile. "I'm just gonna check my messages."

"How d'ya mean, messages?" Peter quizzed, then he looked at the mobile. It was nothing like the brick-like things he was used to. "Is that a phone?"

"Yeah..." Rose waved him off and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Watson, come here. I want you." a voice said over the other end. "Watson, come here. I want you."

Rose furrowed a brow in confusion and glanced at her father, who also looked puzzled. Then, Pete looked into the mirror and saw a beige car behind them; a car that looked familiar to him. He shook those thoughts out of his head and turned a corner, while the beige car went straight ahead, before promptly vanishing into thin air.

~8~

Presently, Rose and Pete arrived at the church where the wedding was to take place. Suddenly, a familiar beige car came out of nowhere right in front of them. "Dad!" Rose hollered.

Pete swerved to avoid the car and pulled up by the curb, then turned round to look at the car speeding away, while Rose sat looking straight ahead of her, shaken by the near miss.

"It's that car!" Pete realised, recognising the beige car as the one that had nearly ran him over. "The same one as before."

They both got out of the car and Pete looked around "It was right in front us, where's it gone?" he wandered, then he realised something else. "You called me 'dad.'" he said to Rose. "What did ya say that for?"

Rose was saved from having to answer that awkward question by a familiar voice, "Oh, wonderful. Here he is, the accident waiting to happen." There was Jackie Tyler, a baby's carry-cot in her arms, and wearing a face like thunder. Rose could only stare at her younger mother. "You'd be late for ya own funeral and it nearly was!" Jackie berated her husband.

"No damage done." Pete huffed.

Jackie glanced disdainfully at the gawping Rose. "And who's this?" Rose continued to stare. "What you looking at with ya mouth open?" Jackie demanded.

"Your 'air." was all Rose could say.

"What?!"

"I've never seen it like..." Rose babbled, while Jackie looked at her, confused and insulted. "I mean... it's lovely, ya hair's lovely" She then spotted the baby in Jackie's arms; Rose's one-year old self. "And that baby ya holding... that would be... your baby."

"Another one of yours, is she?" Jackie sneered to Pete.

"Why d'you always think the worst?! She saved my life!" Pete defended.

"Oh, that's a new one!" Jackie scoffed. "What was it last time?"

"I didn't even know her. She was a cloakroom attendant. I was helping her look for my ticket. There were three duffel coats all the same, somehow the rack collapsed. We were under all that stuff."

"Were you playing around?!" Rose stared at Pete.

"What's it got to do with you what he gets up to?!" Jackie spat.

"What does he get up to?"

"You'd know!"

"Oh, 'cos I'm that stupid." Pete rolled his eyes. "I play around and then bring her home to meet the missus. You silly cow..."

"But you are that stupid!" Jackie retorted

"Can we keep that stuff back home? Just for now?"

"What, with the rest of the rubbish?" Jackie fumed. "You bring home cut-priced detergents, tonic water, Betamax tape and none of it works, I'm drowning in your rubbish." She turned to Rose. "What did he tell you? Did he say he's this big businessman, 'cos he's not. He's a failure. Born failure, that one."

"Jackie, I'm making a living." Pete cut in, talking over her. "It keeps us fed, doesn't it?"

"Rose needs a proper father, not one playing around like a big kid."

It was turning into a full-blown row now and Rose couldn't stand it anymore. "STOP IT!" she cried, causing them both to stop. "Ya not like this. You love each other."

"Oh, Pete, you never used to like 'em mental." Jackie huffed. "Or I dunno, maybe you did."

"Jackie, wait." Pete began. "Just listen..."

But Jackie wasn't interested in listening. "If you're not careful, they'll be a wedding and a divorce on the same day." And she stormed off to join the bride and some friends, who Rose recognised as Jackie's friends Bev and Suzie.

"Right, wait here." Pete said to Rose. "Give us a couple of minutes with the missus." He began to walk away, then turned back again, taking the vase from Rose and giving her the car keys. "Tell ya what, straighten the car up. Stick her round the corner or something. Don't cause anymore trouble..." And he walked off, leaving Rose standing by the car with tears in her eyes.

~8~

Rose had soon sorted the car out and was now stood watching her parents talk from a distance. "I'm not listening." Jackie was saying, calmer than before but still upset. "It's the duffel coats all over again."

"Jackie, sometimes a duffel coat is just a duffel coat." Pete said earnestly. "Things will get better soon, I promise."

"I'm just tired, Pete. I've had enough of all your daft schemes. I never know where the next meal's coming from."

"I'll get it right, love. I promise, one day soon I'll get it right. Come on..."

Rose smiled softly as she watched them reconcile. Her attention was then caught by a little black boy in a suit running around the corner, looking scared for his life. "Monsters!" he cried. "Coming to eat us!"

"What sort of monsters, sweetheart?" Suzie asked him. "Is it aliens?" she, Bev and the bride all laughed, while the boy ran into the church.

Then, Rose heard a pair of familiar voices calling her name from behind her. She turned to see the Doctor and Gazelle running like mad down the road towards her. Rose couldn't help but grin in an insufferably smug way.

"GET IN THE CHURCH!" the Doctor urged, sounding frantic.

Rose's smile dropped upon hearing the urgency in his voice. Then, she saw Gazelle looking to something on her left. Rose followed her gaze to see an enormous black winged creature with a tail like a scythe appear out of thin air just above them. The creature opened it's wings and dived straight for Rose. The Doctor managed to tackle her out of the way just in time.

"Everyone in the church, quick!" Gazelle ordered the others as the Doctor and Rose picked themselves up.

The crowd outside the door tried to run for the door, but stopped in their tracks when another creature appeared in front of them. "Oh, my God. What are they?!" Suzie cried.

The guest inside the church came to the door to see what the commotion was. "Inside!" the Doctor warned them.

The creature began to bear down on the group outside. "Sarah!" the groom cried, beginning to run towards them.

"Stay in there!" the Doctor ordered.

The groom stopped trying to get away, but his father didn't listen and tried to run for it. The creature swooped down on him and tackled him to the floor, devouring him as he screamed blue murder. The bride tried to run for the church, only for a third creature to appear in front of her. The vicar selflessly threw himself in front of the terrified bride and the creature devoured him instead.

"In!" the Doctor ordered, he and Gazelle ushering the remainder of the group inside the church. The first creature tried to chase after them, but the Doctor shut the doors just in time and bolted them shut to keep the creatures out.

Once inside the church, the guests babbled in panic. The Time Lords looked around at the shadows of the creatures outside the windows. "They can't get in." the Doctor rambled, more to himself than anyone else. "Old windows and doors, ok. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else?"

"Go and check the other doors, quick!" Gazelle urged everyone, then she and the Doctor hurried over to check some doors on their right.

Jackie ran after them. "What's happening? What are they?" she babbled, shaking Gazelle's arm. "What are they?"

"Reapers." the Time Lady replied, not really paying attention to the hysterical Human at the moment as she had other things to worry about. "Used to think they were just a story made up to scare us, but obviously not."

"There's been an accident in time, a wound in time." the Doctor rambled, rushing to check a side door "They're like bacteria, taking advantage."

"What d'ya mean, reapers and time?" Jackie glared. "What're you two jabbering on about, time?"

"Oh, I might've known you'd argue." the Doctor rolled his eyes. "Jackie, I'm sick of your complaining..."

"How d'ya know my name?" Jackie demanded, cutting across him.

"Jackie, we haven't got time for this." Gazelle tried to cut in.

"I've never met either of you in my life!" Jackie continued to argue.

"No, and yer never will unless we sort this out." the Doctor said bluntly. "Now, if yer don't mind, I've waited a long time to say this, Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go and check the doors!" he commanded.

"Yes, sir." Jackie blinked, and scuttled away to do so.

Gazelle shook her head at the Doctor. "You enjoyed that, didn't ya?"

"Yep." he grinned, pleased with himself. "I should've done that ages ago."

The groom came over to them. "My dad was out there, he sort of... vanished. With those things. Is he...?"

"I'm sorry." the Doctor said gravely, the hard tone he'd used with Jackie replaced with a more sympathetic one.

"Oh, my God." the groom paled.

"We'll have to mourn him later, I'm afraid." Gazelle told him gently. "Right now we need to focus on keeping ourselves alive."

"My dad had..."

"There's nothing we can for him." the Doctor said grimly.

"No, but he had this phone thing, cost him a fortune." the groom said, showing them an 80's brick phone. "I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice..."

The Doctor dialled a number and raised the phone to his ear. "Watson, come here. I want you." he heard on the other end. "Watson, come here. I want you."

"That's the very first phone call, Alexander Graham bell." the Doctor realised, handing the phone back to the groom. "I don't think the telephone's gonna be much use."

"But someone must've called the police!" the groom reasoned.

"Police can't help yer now, no one can." the Doctor told him grimly, then addressed the whole group, "Nothing in the universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilise the wound..." he went up to Rose and looked her right in the eye, "by consuming everything in sight."

"Is this because..." Rose began shakily. "Is this my fault?"

The Doctor didn't answer; he just clenched his jaw and walked past her to check the windows. Pete had overheard their exchange. Brow furrowed, he looked from Rose to his daughter in her carry-cot.

~8~

Presently, Gazelle went into an anteroom where Pete was checking the doors. "There's smoke coming up from the city, but no sirens." Pete said urgently. "I, I don't think it's just us, I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world."

Gazelle didn't answer; she watched grimly out of the window as the car that should have killed Pete appeared out of thin air, screeched round the corner and disappeared again

"Was that a car?" Pete asked, joined her by the window.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Gazelle lied, then she turned and left the room.

Pete stared out of the window for a moment, then went off into a back room where Rose was sitting, alone and red-eyed. "These mates of yours..." Pete began. "What d'ya mean, this is your fault?"

"Dunno." Rose sniffled. "Just... everything."

"I gave you my car keys." Pete said.

Rose gazed at him, her eyes red. "So?"

"You don't give ya keys to a complete stranger." Pete said. "It's... it's like I trusted you. Moment I met ya, I just did. A wound in time..." Realisation steadily dawned on him. "You called me 'dad'. I can see it... my eyes... Jackie's attitude... you sound like her when you shout." He reached out and touched Rose's face tentatively "You are. You are... you're my Rose. You're my Rose grown up." And he threw his arms around her.

Losing all control, Rose's tears began to flow again. "Dad... my dad." she sobbed. "My daddy."

~8~

The Doctor was busy checking all the doors in the church when the bride and groom approached him "Excuse me." the groom began, "Mr..."

"Doctor." the Time Lord corrected, not looking at him as he was busy at that moment.

"Sorry to keep bothering, but you seem to know what's going on." the groom continued.

"I give that impression, yeah." the Doctor shrugged, reinforcing the lock with his sonic screwdriver.

"I just wanted to ask, I mean... I don't know what's happening, and I think I'm gonna wake up soon 'cos it's all just barmy, but the thing is...

"Can you save us?" the bride cut across him.

Those words grabbed the Doctor's attention and he stopped sonicing and turned to them. "Who are you two, then?"

"Stuart Hoskins." the groom replied.

"Sarah Clarke." the bride added. "Sarah Hoskins. Almost."

"And one extra." the Doctor commented, nodding to Sarah's baby bump. "Boy or girl?"

"I dunno." Sarah replied, running her hand over her bump. "I don't wanna know, really. Though everyone says she's a girl 'cos of the way she's sitting."

"How did all this get started?" the Doctor asked. "How did yer meet, you two?"

"Outside the Beat Box Club, down in the precinct, two in the morning." Stuart replied.

"Street corner, I'd lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi." Sarah added.

"I took her home."

"Then what?" the Doctor asked knowingly. "Asked her out for a date?"

"Wrote his number on the back of my hand." Sarah smiled.

"Never got rid of her since." Stuart laughed. "My dad said..." he faltered, remembering that his dad was no more. "My dad said a lot of things."

Sarah bit her lip nervously as they heard the Reapers screeching outside. "I dunno what this is all about." she said tearfully. "And I know we're not important; Stu just works in the printers, and I've only got dental nursing..."

"Who said yer not important?" the Doctor interrupted, genuinely shocked that someone would think that about themselves. "I've travelled to all sorts of places. Done things you couldn't even imagine, but... you two... street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that." He looked over to where Gazelle was looking after baby Rose. She had had a simple life like that before the Time War had destroyed it all. "Yes. I'll try and save you." he told the couple. "I'll try my best, ok."

~8~

Rose and Pete sat talking in the anteroom. "I'm a dad." Pete murmured, still trying to get his head around all this. "I mean, I'm already a dad, but... Rose grows up, and she's you. That's wonderful. I suppose I thought that you'd be a bit, useless, what, with my useless genes and all, but look at you! I mean, how'd ya get here?"

"D'ya really wanna know?" Rose asked.

"Yeah."

"A time Machine."

"Time machine." Pete repeated after a stunned pause.

"Cross my heart." Rose smiled.

"What, do they all have time machines where you come from?" Pete smiled back.

"Nah, just the Doctor."

"And his girlfriend, what's her name?"

"Gazelle. And they're not couple." Rose told him, though she suspected otherwise.

"Did ya know these things were coming?" Pete asked.

"No."

"God, I dunno, my head's spinning." Pete said incredulously. "What's the future like?"

"It's not so different." Rose replied.

"What am I like?" Pete asked. "Have I gone grey?" he laughed at that thought, but Rose didn't reply. Pete's smile faded slightly. "Have I gone bald? Don't tell me I've gone bald!" Rose still didn't answer, so a wrong-footed Pete changed the subject again. "So, if the Doctor and that Gazelle girl ain't a couple, are you and him...?"

"God, no." Rose replied immediately with a slight snort.

"Good." Pete nodded. "I'm glad 'cos being ya dad and all, I think he's a bit old for you..." They both laughed slightly. "Have you got a bloke?"

"No, I did have..." Rose began, but was cut off by approaching footsteps, then Jackie's voice rang out in the background.

"Mickey!"

The little black boy came running in and clamped himself to Rose's leg. "Do you know him?" Pete asked her.

"I just didn't recognise him in a suit." Rose blinked, realising that the boy was a young Mickey Smith. "You'll have to let go of me, sweetheart." she told young Mickey. "And I'm always telling him that." she muttered to herself.

Mickey returned to Jackie, who had just entered the room. "He just grabs hold of what's passing and holds on for dear life." Jackie commented. "God help his poor girlfriend if he ever gets one."

"Me and Rose were just talking..." Pete began.

"Oh, yeah? Talking?" Jackie interrupted, getting the wrong idea again. "While the world comes to an end, what do ya do? Cling to the youngest blonde. Come on, Mick." she took Mickey's hand and led him away

Pete made to follow, but Rose stopped him. "You can't tell her." she emphasised.

"Why?" Pete questioned.

"I mean... I really don't want you to tell her."

"What, d'ya don't want people to know?"

"Where I come from, Jackie doesn't know how to work the timer on the video recorder."

"I showed her that last week." Pete grinned. Rose nodded and Pete stopped grinning. "Point taken."

~8~

The Doctor had finished checking the doors and joined Gazelle. "Now, Rose, you're not gonna bring about the end of the world, are you?" he said to the baby. "Are you?" he repeated sternly.

Baby Rose just stared innocently up at him. Adult Rose joined them at that moment. "Jackie gave her to me to look after." Gazelle explained. "Times have certainly changed."

"I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken." Rose remarked, trying to make light-hearted conversation.

She reached out to touch her baby self but the Doctor swatted her hand away. "No." he warned. "Don't touch the baby. Yer both the same person and that's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happening. Not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes 'em stronger. The paradox might let them in."

"Can't do anything right, can I?" ?" Rose mumbled.

"Since yer ask, no." the Doctor retorted bluntly. "So, don't... touch... the... baby."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm... not... stupid." she bit back.

"Yer could've fooled me." the Doctor retorted.

Gazelle elbowed him in the side. "That's not helping." she reprimanded.

The Doctor took a breath and turned back to Rose. "Alright, I'm sorry. We weren't really gonna leave you on yer own."

"I know." Rose replied.

"But between us, I haven't got a plan. No idea." the Doctor admitted. "No way out."

"You'll think of something." Rose said quietly.

"The entire Earth is being sterilised." the Doctor told her seriously. "This, and other places like it are all that's left of the Human race. We might hold out for a while but nothing can stop those creatures." He looked at the shadows of the Reapers circling outside the church. "They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing we can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from happening. Our people would've stopped this, but they're all gone." He lowered his head gloomily.

"And we're gonna go the same way." Gazelle finished for him.

"If I'd realised..." Rose began, the full impact of her mistake hitting her.

"Just... tell us you're sorry." the Doctor said, lifting his head.

"I am." Rose said sincerely. "I'm sorry."

The trio shared a group hug, when Rose suddenly pulled away. "Have ya got something hot?" she asked the Doctor and reached into his pocket. She flinched her hand away suddenly and something glowing fell to the floor.

"It's the TARDIS key!" the Doctor realised. He slipped his jacket off and used it as a glove to pick up the glowing hot key. "It's telling me it's still connected to the TARDIS!"

"Is that good?" Rose asked.

"Very good." Gazelle replied, checking her own key, which was glowing too.

The Doctor took both keys and stood up on the pulpit to address everyone. "The inside of our ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use these to bring it back," he announced, holding up the glowing keys, "and once we've got our ship back, then we can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anyone got a battery?"

Stuart noticed his father's phone on the chair in front of him. He grabbed it and stood up. "This one big enough?"

"Fantastic." the Doctor replied, hurrying over to him.

"Good old dad." Stuart remarked, taking the battery out of the phone. "Here ya go." He handed the battery to the Doctor.

The Doctor went back over to Gazelle. "Just need to do a bit of charging up..." he muttered as Gazelle pressed her sonic screwdriver to the battery.

"And then we can bring everyone back." she finished.

While the Time Lords worked on the keys, Rose and Pete sat down at the back of the church "You, um... ya never said why you came here in the first place." Pete said. "If I had a time machine, I wouldn't have thought 1987 was anything special. Not round here, anyway."

"We just ended up here." Rose shrugged.

"Lucky for me, eh? If you hadn't been there to save me..."

"That was just a coincidence." Rose said quickly. "That was just... Really good luck... it's amazing."

Pete didn't quite believe this, but decided not to press the issue. "So, in the future, are me and her indoors still together?"

"Yeah."

"Are you still living with us?"

"Yep!"

Pete smiled and nodded. He looked at her intensely for a few seconds, then asked a question that he'd wanted to ask ever since he'd found out that she was his daughter from the future, "Am I a good dad?"

Rose swallowed hard, unable to bring herself to tell the truth. "You... you told me a bedtime story every night when I was small. You were always there... you never missed one. And, um... You took us for picnics in the country every Saturday. You never let us down. You were there for us all the time. Someone I could really rely on."

They were both silent for a moment, then Pete spoke again, "That's not me."

Rose turned to look at the front of the church, where the outline of the TARDIS was just starting to materialise, with the Doctor's key in her lock. Grinning, the Doctor slipped his jacket back on and ran back to the pulpit to address everyone. "Right, no one touches those keys." he ordered. "Have yer got that? Anyone touches those keys, it'll be, well, zap. Just leave 'em be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here, all of us. Stuart, Sarah, you're gonna get married, just like I said." he grinned encouragingly at them.

~8~

Slowly but surely, the TARDIS began to materialise. Everyone sat waiting for her to appear fully. The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose sat at the back of the church, with Pete on a seat behind them, while Jackie threw them dirty looks over her shoulder.

"When time gets sorted out..." Rose began.

"Everybody here forgets what happens." the Doctor told her. "And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed."

"Ya mean I'll still be alive." Pete spoke up, causing the time travellers to turn to him. "Although I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life. Why I didn't mean anything. It wasn't leading to anything."

"You do mean something, Pete." Gazelle tried to assure him, but Pete wasn't having it

"Rubbish." he waved her off. "I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all this has happened."

"This is my fault." Rose said, reaching over and putting a hand on his arm.

"No, love." Pete replied. "I'm ya dad. It's my job for it to be my fault."

"Her dad?" a familiar voice said, and they looked up to see Jackie standing there. "How are her dad? How old were you, twelve?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and distanced himself from Jackie's trademark domestics.

"Oh, that's disgusting!" Jackie burst out.

"Jacks, listen." Pete tried to reason. "This is Rose."

But Jackie misunderstood yet again. "Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second hand name? How many are there? D'ya call 'em all Rose?!"

"Oh, for God's sake, look!" Pete rolled his eyes. "It's the same Rose." he took the baby from Jackie's arms and placed her in adult Rose's arms.

Rose, NO!" the Doctor and Gazelle yelled together, the latter rushing forward to take the baby, but she was too late. She pulled the baby out of Rose's arms just as a Reaper materialised in the middle of the church.

The guests screamed and leapt to their feet. "Everyone behind me!" the Doctor urged them, and they all gathered behind him.

"Doctor, no!" Gazelle hollered, realising what the Doctor was doing, but the Time Lord ignored her.

"I'm the oldest thing in here." he called to the Reaper, which promptly opened it's wings and charged straight for him.

"Doctor!" Rose cried.

"Theta!" Gazelle screamed in the Time Lords' language as the Reaper consumed the Doctor.

With the Doctor gone, mayhem ensured. The Humans all screamed and ran in different directions as the Reaper swooped about the room, looking for it's next victim. Gazelle just stood rooted to her spot, in shock at the loss of the Doctor and at the empty feeling in her head without his telepathic presence. The Reaper collided with the semi-transparent TARDIS and disappeared, taking the TARDIS with it. The key fell to the floor next to Gazelle's, both of them no longer glowing.

There was silence for a moment, then Rose ran down the aisle to the spot where the TARDIS was, while Gazelle dropped to her knees and curled on the floor sobbing, the grief and emptiness overwhelming. Rose picked up the keys. "Cold." she said numbly. "They're cold."

Pete approached her cautiously from behind, all the while looking nervously around the church. Gazelle was still curled up on the floor, crying her hearts out.

"Oh, my God, he's dead." Rose breathed. Pete reached out to her but she shook him off. "It's all my fault." she said shakily, turning to look at the crying Time Lady, then at the others. "All of you." Her voice cracked as the full impact of her actions hit her. "The whole world.

The sky outside darkened. Jackie held baby Rose closer to her while the other guests looked around scared. "What's happening?" Sarah whimpered.

"They're getting stronger." Stuart realised.

"This is it." Bev breathed. "There's nothing we can do. It's the end.

Silence fell over the church, with the only sounds to be heard being Gazelle's wracked sobs and the Reapers' howls from outside.

~8~

Pete entered the anteroom to check that the doors were still secure. They were holding for now, so he went and looked out of the window. He saw the car that had nearly ran him over appear out of nowhere, screech round the corner and disappear into thin air As he watched this happen twice, he swallowed hard, coming to a revelation as to what had happened and what needed to happen to fix this mess.

~8~

Rose sat alone in the dark church in silence. She could see that Gazelle had stopped crying, but was still curled up on the floor with her head hidden in her lap. Rose considered going over to comfort her, but decided against it as she knew that it was her fault that the Doctor was gone and nothing she could say or do would make it right.

Pete emerged from the anteroom. "Stu, Sarah, the wedding's still on, ok?" he said to his friends, then he approached Rose. "The Doctor really cared about you." he began. "She does too." he gestured to Gazelle. "They didn't want you to go through it again if there was another way. Now there isn't."

"What're you talking about?" Rose asked as she stood.

"The car that should've killed me, love, it's here." Pete replied gravely. "It's come for me. See, I'm not so daft after all. The Doctor and his partner worked it out way back, but they... they tried to protect me. Still, he's not charge anymore, and she's in no state to be in charge, so it's up to me now."

"But you can't..." Rose breathed, realising what he was implying.

"Who am I, love?" Pete asked gently.

"My daddy." Rose sobbed as Jackie came over.

"Jackie, look at her." Pete instructed his wife. "She's ours."

Jackie looked wide-eyed at Rose, the truth finally dawning on her. "Oh, God..." she breathed, and threw her arms around Rose. When she let go, she looked at Pete.

"I'm meant to be dead, Jackie." he said. "You' re gonna be rid of me at last."

"Don't say that." Jackie said tearfully.

"For once in ya life, trust me." Pete said gently. "It's gotta be done. You've gotta survive, 'cos you've gotta bring up our daughter." He gave his wife one last kiss, then turned to his daughter "I never read ya those stories. I never took ya on those picnics. I was never there for you."

"You would've been." Rose sobbed.

"But I can do this for you. I can be a proper dad to you now."

"But it's not fair."

Pete smiled bravely. "I've had all these extra hours. No one else in the world 'as ever had that. And on top of that... I get to see you." He took her face in his hands. "And you're beautiful. How lucky am I, eh? So, come on... do as ya dad says."

Tearfully, Rose handed him the vase.

"Are you gonna be there for me, love?" Pete asked. Rose nodded, and Pete put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Thanks for saving me." And he pulled his wife and daughter into a tight embrace.

~8~

The Reapers were still clamouring outside of the church when Pete ran out of the doors, the vase in his hands. He stopped just outside of the gate and looked at a Reaper, which was hovering overhead, as if it was daring him to carry on. He turned to see the beige car appear from thin air around the corner and ran straight out in front of it "Goodbye, love." he breathed and braced himself

There was a screech of brakes, followed by a thud, then the vase crashed to the ground and shattered. The Reapers disappeared one-by-one now that time had been restored.

Rose stood outside the church doors with her head bowed, eyes closed and taking deep breaths in the slight breeze. She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see the Doctor standing beside her. "Go to him. Quick." he encouraged.

Rose ran out of the church gates, hurried down the road and knelt next to her dying father. She held his hand and lifted his head slightly off the ground. They looked into each other's eyes as he took his last breaths. Finally, his eyes rolled into his head and his head fell back.

As Sarah, Stuart, his father, Jackie and the rest of the guests emerged from the church to try and see what had happened, the Doctor turned around just in time to see Gazelle launch herself at him "You stupid, selfless man." she sobbed into his shoulder "I thought I'd lost ya. I couldn't carry on alone. Don't ever do that to me again."

"I'll try not to." the Doctor said gently, rubbing soothing circles in her back. "It's alright now. I'm back, and I'm not planning on going again any time soon. C'mon." He took her hand and they went over to join Rose.

Rose placed a kiss on her father's forehead and stood up. She looked down at Pete's body for a few moments then lifted her head to meet the Time Lords' gazes. They both had looks of sympathy and forgiveness on their faces. Gazelle took Rose's hand and the trio walked towards the TARDIS, which had appeared over the road from them.

~8~

A little later, Rose was roaming the corridors in the TARDIS. As soon as they'd left 1987, they'd all gone their separate ways, with Rose retreating to her bedroom to mull over the day's events. After a few hours, she'd decided that she needed to talk to someone, so she went for a walk. She saw that the Doctor was busy playing with his model railway, so decided not to disturb him.

Presently, she came to a door with Time Lord writing on it and a picture of a gazelle on it. Realising that this was the Time Lady's bedroom, Rose knocked, wandering if Gazelle was in there. "Come in." the Time Lady's voice came from the other side, confirming that she was, so Rose entered. Gazelle's room reminded Rose a bit of Mickey's flat, with clothes and bits and bobs strewn all over the place and posters for films and rock groups decorating the walls. Gazelle herself was lounging on a leather recliner, dressed in a pale blue cami top and matching flannel pyjama bottoms, and holding a small piece of paper in her hand. "You alright, Rose?" she asked.

"Yeah, um, fine." Rose mumbled "Wos' that?"

"One of the few things left from home." Gazelle replied stoically, and turned the paper around to reveal that it was a photograph showing two people standing beneath a burnt orange sky.

"Was that your planet?" Rose asked.

"Yes. And that was my family." Gazelle answered, indicating the people in the photo. "That's my husband, the Leone." She indicated a rather handsome blonde-haired man. "And that's my son, the artist." She indicated a younger man with dark hair. "Everything that happened today got me thinking about them."

"You miss 'em, don't you?" Rose sighed understandingly.

"All the time." Gazelle sighed. "Still, I can't bring them back, so it's no use moping." She set the photo down on a table. "Are you ok, Rose? Today was a very hard day on you. I'm sorry about ya dad."

"I'm fine, really." Rose insisted. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all that to happen. I didn't think..."

"Rose, we understand." Gazelle held up a hand to stop her. "Really, we do. Tell ya the truth, I'd have done the same myself if I'd been in your shoes. I suppose we should've explained to you about how the laws of time work. See, the thing is, time travel is complicated, but to try and simplify things, time is in flux the majority of the time and be rewritten with no problem. But there's also fixed points and vulnerable points. Fixed points can't be changed, no matter what, while vulnerable points can be changed, but it's very risky to do so."

"That's what the Doctor said." Rose observed. "That it was vulnerable point."

"Yes." Gazelle confirmed. "It wasn't vulnerable at first. If you'd have saved Pete the first time we went back, then the timelines would've adapted to the change and we'd be laughing, but because we went back a second time and had two sets of us there, it became a vulnerable point. Then when you saved him, it created an opening that the Reapers were able to come through."

"So, how'd you and the Doctor know what's fixed and what's not?"

"We're Time Lords. We see time differently to other species. We see what can happen, what has to happen and what must not be allowed to happen."

"Must drive ya mad." Rose stared.

"Oh, we're used to it." Gazelle replied nonchalantly. "Time Lord minds are meant to understand it. We try to avoid fixed points where possible, though. Best that way."

"Um, there's something else." Rose said "History's been changed, and my mum now remembers my dad dying outside the church, and me being with him, but I can still remember the old story, about how he died close to home and on his own."

"That's because you're a time traveller now, Rose." Gazelle told her. "It changed your perception of the universe. Is that alright?" she asked, remembering how Rose had freaked out about the TARDIS' translation field on Platform One.

"Yeah." Rose nodded. "Um, sorry if I disturbed ya."

"No, not at all. You know you can come to me anytime ya want." Gazelle assured her. "My door's always open. Goodnight, Rose."

"Night." Rose reciprocated, and left the room, now feeling better at having talked and also a bit tired from the day's misadventures, so she returned to her room to turn in for the night.

Chapter Text

The TARDIS hurtled through the Time Vortex in pursuit of a cylindrical object. Rose hurried into the console room to find the Doctor and Gazelle rushing about the console, operating the controls. "What's the emergency?" Rose asked them

"It's mauve." the Doctor replied

"Mauve?"

"The universally recognised colour for danger." Gazelle answered, hitting a blue switch and the TARDIS stopped shaking.

"What happened to red?" Rose asked, moving to stand by the Doctor

"That's just Humans." the Doctor replied, "By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing." He gestured to the object they were chasing on the monitor. "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in and we've slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."

"And how safe is that?" Rose asked

"Totally." the Doctor replied casually and pressed a button. Part of the console promptly sparked, causing him to jump back. "Ok, reasonably. Should've said reasonably there." he corrected sheepishly

Gazelle just rolled her eyes and swing the monitor round to her side of the console to check it. She could see the Time Vortex turning blue, meaning that the object was going backwards in time. "Doctor, it's jumping time tracks, getting away from us." she warned.

"What exactly is that thing?" Rose asked

"Haven't a clue." Gazelle replied, swinging the monitor back to the Doctor as they worked to keep up with the object.

"And why are we chasing it?" Rose quizzed

"It's mauve and dangerous." the Doctor told her, "And about 30 seconds from the centre of London."

~8~

When the TARDIS stopped, the trio stepped out to find themselves in an alleyway behind some bleak-looking terraced houses. "D'yer know how long we can knock around space without bumping into Earth?" the Doctor asked sarcastically

"Five days." Rose retorted, "Or is that just when we're outta milk?"

"All the species in the universe, and it has to come out of a cow." the Doctor muttered

"Could be worse." Gazelle quipped, "At least it doesn't come out of rats, Macra or Drashigs."

"Fair point." the Doctor conceded, and they made their way further along the alley. "Must've come down somewhere quite close." the Doctor observed, "Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month?!" Rose questioned, "We were right

"Rose, it was jumping time tracks and hopping about all over the place." Gazelle told her, "I'm not surprised we're a little bit out."

"Do you wanna drive?" the Doctor asked Rose indignantly

"Yeah." she answered

"We can teach ya sometime." Gazelle said, "But I warn ya, the TARDIS is a complicated machine and the Doctor and I aren't exactly Luke Skywalker and Han Solo ourselves."

"How much is a little?" Rose asked, getting back on topic

"A bit." the Doctor waved her off, heading for a padlocked set of doors at the end of the alley.

"Is that exactly a bit?" Rose persisted

"Ish."

"What's the plan, then? Ya gonna scan for alien tech or something?"

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang." the Doctor answered flatly, "We're gonna ask." He showed Rose his psychic paper.

"'Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids, and his assistant, Kelci Jones.'" Rose read

"Psychic paper, tells yer..."

"Whatever ya want it to tell me, I remember." Rose cut in, remembering the Doctor's explanation on Platform One.

"Sorry." the Doctor mumbled as they reached the doors

"Not very Spock, is it?" Rose went on, "Just asking."

The Doctor pressed his ear to the door. "Door, music, people. What d'yer think?"

"I think you should scan for alien tech." Rose said flatly as she watched the Doctor use his sonic screwdriver on the padlock, "Gimme some Spock for once. Would it kill either of ya?"

"Rose, just cos' we have fancy gadgets, doesn't mean we have to whip them out for everything." Gazelle told her, "Sometimes, the old-fashioned ways are best."

"You sure about that t-shirt?" the Doctor asked, looking at the rather garish Union Flag t-shirt Rose was wearing.

"Too early to say." Rose shrugged, "I'm taking it out for a spin."

"I like the shirt." Gazelle reassured her

"Thanks." Rose replied, "You should try it sometime. Bet it'd look great on you."

Just then, her attention was caught by a child's voice in the distance calling out; "Muuuu-mmy?"

While Rose looked around for the source of the voice, the Doctor finished with the lock and opened the door. "Come on, if yer coming." he said to Rose, "Won't take a minute." He stepped through the door.

"Rose?" Gazelle frowned, noticing that Rose wasn't paying attention

"Yeah, yeah, with ya in a minute." Rose waved her off, still looking around.

Gazelle considered asking her what was wrong, but then decided that someone needed to keep an eye on the Doctor, so she went through the door after him.

"Muuuu-mmy?" the child's voice called out again

Rose continued looking around and noticed a little blonde boy in a gas mask standing on a nearby rooftop. "Doctor? Gazelle? There's a kid up there!" Rose called urgently, but the Time Lords were already inside the building and out of earshot, so Rose ran off to try and find a way to rescue the boy herself.

~8~

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Gazelle made their way through a darkened corridor, following the sound of voices and music. They pushed through some curtains to find themselves in a crowded drinking den, where people in mid-20th century clothing were smoking, drinking and chatting, while a female singer stood on stage performing a romantic song.

~8~

Rose reached the building the boy was on top of. "You alright up there?" she called up to him

"Muuuuu-my?" the boy called

Rose began to climb the fire escape.

~8~

In the nightclub, the singer finished her song and the patrons applauded. The singer vacated the stage and the Doctor stepped up to the mike. "Excuse me, s'cuse me. Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick, eh... hello!" He waved cheerfully. "Eh... might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"

There was silence for a moment, then all the patrons burst out laughing. Both Time Lords frowned, wandering what was so funny about the Doctor's question.

~8~

Rose reached the rooftop to find that the boy was standing on top of a water tank, with no steps leading up to him. "Mummy?" he called again.

"Ok, hold on. Don't move!" Rose called back to him. She noticed a rope hanging down the side of the tank, so she began to climb it.

~8~

The patrons continued to howl with laughter. "Sorry, have I said something funny?" a confused Doctor asked, causing them to laugh even more. "It's just, there's this thing I need to find." he pressed on, "Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago." Suddenly, a loud siren sounded in the distance, and the patrons began to evacuate the room. "Would've landed quite near here." the Doctor tried to continue, "With a very loud..."

"Doctor." Gazelle called. He looked over to see her pointing at a poster on the wall bearing the legend, 'Hitler will send no warning.'

"Bang." the Doctor finished sheepishly, realising that they'd landed in the middle of the Second World War, where things fell from the sky day in and day out.

~8~

Rose continued to climb the rope up the tank. "Mummy." the boy called again, "Balloon."

Rose looked up to see that the rope she was climbing up was attached to a barrage balloon. And before she could realise her mistake and jump clear, a gust of wind caught the balloon and began to blow it away from the rooftop, taking Rose with it. "Doctor! Gazelle!" she cried out in terror, but the Time Lords were still inside the building and couldn't hear her.

The balloon began to drift across the city. Rose looked round to see the view over her shoulder: blacked-out London, with a few fires burning and barrage balloons spread out in the air. Worse still, Rose could see a swarm of German planes coming straight for her.

"Ok... maybe not this t-shirt." was all she could say as the planes zoomed around her.

~8~

The Doctor and Gazelle left the drinking den and made their way back down the alley, looking for their companion. "Rose?" they called out, but there was no sign of her.

They stopped round the corner where the TARDIS was parked. "Yer know... one day. Just one day, maybe, we're gonna meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing." the Doctor muttered irritably

"I wouldn't bank on it." Gazelle sighed

"900 years of phone box travel and it's the only thing left to surprise me." the Doctor grumbled. Suddenly, they heard a phone ringing nearby. They followed the sound to find that it was coming from the TARDIS. Brow furrowed in confusion, the Doctor opened the panel on the door where an old-fashioned phone was hidden. "How can you be ringing?" the Doctor wandered, "What's that about? Ringing? What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"

"Well, I'm not a genius like you, but I'd guess that we're supposed to answer it." Gazelle replied flatly

"Don't answer it. It's not for you." a voice called out behind them, and they turned round to see a young woman standing there

"And how do you know that?" the Doctor questioned

"Cos' I do." the woman replied, "And I'm telling ya, don't answer it."

"Well, if you know so much, tell me this, how can it be ringing?" the Doctor asked, turning back to the phone, "It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not..."

He turned back to see that the woman had disappeared. "Someone's quick on their feet." Gazelle commented, then they both turned back to the phone.

The Doctor hesitantly picked up the receiver and held up so that they both could hear. "Hello?" he called, "This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mummy?" a child's voice came over the other end. "Mummy?"

"Who is this?" Gazelle frowned, "Who's speaking?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"Are you alright?" Gazelle tried

"Mummy?"

"How did you ring here?" the Doctor questioned, "This isn't a real phone, it's not wired up to anything, it's..."

"Mummy?" the child's voice interrupted, then the line went dead.

The Doctor slowly put the receiver back in it's cradle while Gazelle poked her head inside the TARDIS. "Rose, are you there?" she called out

Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound from somewhere behind them so they went off to investigate, hurrying out of the alleyway and into a street.

Soon, their attention was caught by a woman's voice, "The planes are coming. Can't you hear 'em? Into the shelter. None of ya nonsense, now MOVE IT!" Following the sound, the Time Lords climbed up on top of some bins and looked over a garden wall to see a plump woman ushering a small boy into an air raid shelter. "Come on, come on, get in there." the woman fussed and turned back to the house, "Arthur! Arthur, will you hurry up?! Didn't ya hear the sirens?"

A plump man, evidently Arthur, came storming out of the house. "Middle of dinner every night." he grumbled, "Blooming Germans, don't they eat?"

"I can hear the planes!" his wife fussed

"Don't you eat?!" Arthur shouted skywards, then stumped over to the shelter.

"Keep ya voice down, will ya? There's an air raid!" his wife ordered, then pushed him into the shelter and followed him inside, both of them arguing all the while.

"I feel sorry for their son." Gazelle remarked to the Doctor, "Having to life with them two all the time."

Just then, the Time Lords saw the woman from before come out of hiding by the shelter and creep into the house by the back door.

The woman, Nancy, entered the kitchen and began taking tins of food out of the cupboards and putting them into her knapsack. She then made for the front door but stopped when something in the dining room caught her attention. She saw an unfinished meal on the table and smiled. She went out to the end of the front path and whistled, then went back inside. She slipped her coat off and began carving up the plump joint of meat on the table. Two boys ran in. "Many kids out there?" Nancy asked

"Eh... yes, miss." the younger boy, Jim, answered, then they both ran to the table and made for the food.

"Ah, still carving." Nancy told them, "Sit and wait. We've the whole air raid."

"Look at that." the older boy, Ernie, commented, looking at the joint. "Bet it's off the black market."

"That's enough." Nancy chided lightly.

~8~

Rose meanwhile was still clinging for dear life to the rope. The balloon continued to drift over London, nearing Westminster. Planes continued to whizz past Rose, their machine guns letting rip, while anti-aircraft guns on the ground fired into the air in an attempt to nail the air-borne invaders. Then, a bomb landed somewhere beneath Rose, the blast causing her to lose her grip on the rope and fall towards the flames, screaming.

Suddenly, a blue beam of light shot out of somewhere near the Westminster clock tower and caught Rose mid-fall. "Ok, ok, I've got you." an American-accented voice called out.

"Who's got me?" a scared and surprised Rose shouted, "Who's got me, and ya know, how?"

"I'm just programming your descent pattern." the voice replied, "Keep as still as you can and keep ya hands and feet inside the light field."

"Descent pattern?"

"Oh, and could you switch off ya cell phone? No, seriously, it interferes with my instruments."

"Ya know, no one ever believes that." Rose muttered, pulling out her phone and switching it off.

"Thank you." the voice said, "That's much better."

"Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is." a hysterical Rose said sarcastically, "I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey! My mobile phone off!"

The voice just laughed. "Be with you in a moment. Ready for you. Hold tight."

"To what?!"

"Fair point."

Rose suddenly found herself zooming feet first down the tunnel of light, screaming all the way. There was a flash and the next moment, Rose found herself in the arms of a dashing dark-haired man in an RAF uniform. "I've got you." he said, "You're fine, you're just fine. The tractor beam, it can scramble ya head just a little."

Rose suddenly seemed to notice him. "Hello." she said breathlessly

"Hello." the man grinned, raising his eyebrows and looking her up and down.

"Hello." Rose repeated, still gazing at him. "Sorry, that was hello twice there. Dull, but ya know, thorough."

"Are you alright?" the man asked

"Fine." Rose said, and the man put her down on her feet. "Why, are you expecting me to faint or something?"

"Well, you do look a little dizzy." the man said

"What about you? You're not even in focus..." Rose managed to get out, before her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted in the man's arms.

~8~

At the house, several children were now sitting at the table as Nancy continued to cut up the joint. "It's got to be black market." Ernie said for the umpteenth time, "He couldn't get all this on coupons."

"Ernie, how many times? We are guests in this house." Nancy scolded, "We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up."

The other children all laughed at Ernie. "Oh, Nancy." he sulked

Nancy looked to one of the other boys at the table. "Haven't seen you at one of these before." she said

"He told me about it." the boy, Alf, replied, pointing to his mate.

"Sleeping rough."

"Yes, miss."

"Alright then." Nancy said, passing the plate around. "One slice each, and I wanna see everyone chewing properly."

"Thank ya, miss!" Jim said as he took his slice and passed the plate.

"Thanks, miss!" Ernie said as he took a slice for himself and passed the plate along.

"Thank you, miss." a boy said, taking their slice and passing the plate to the person next to them.

"Thanks, miss." an older, Lancashire-accented voice said as a pair of adult hands took the plate. The children all gasped and jumped back in surprise to see the Doctor sitting at the table with Gazelle standing behind him, leaning on his chair.

"It's alright." Nancy assured the kids, "Everybody stay where they are."

"Good here, innit?" the Doctor said casually, "Who's got the salt?"

"Back in ya seats." Nancy told the kids, "They shouldn't be here either."

The children all sat down again as the Doctor helped himself to some sauce. "So, you lot..." he said, "What's the story?"

"What d'ya mean?" Ernie questioned

"Yer homeless, right? Living rough?"

"Why d'you wanna know that?" Jim probed, "Are you a copper?"

"Of course I'm not a copper." the Doctor snorted, "What's a copper gonna do with you lot anyway? Arrest yer for starving?" The children all laughed at that, breaking the ice.

"We make it 1941." Gazelle spoke up, checking her watch, "You kids shouldn't even be in London. You should've all been evacuated to the country by now."

"I was evacuated." Alf replied, "Sent me to a farm."

"So why d'yer come back?" the Doctor questioned

"There was a man there..." Alf shivered

"Yeah, same with Ernie." Jim remarked, "Two homes ago."

"Shut up." Ernie grumbled, "It's better on the streets anyway. Better food." he told the Time Lords.

"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us." another boy agreed.

"So that's what yer do is it, Nancy?" the Doctor asked her

"What is?" she looked over.

"As soon as the sirens go, yer find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and, bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all! As long as the bombs don't get yer."

"Something wrong with that?" Nancy asked defensively.

"Wrong? It's brilliant." the Doctor replied, "Not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical." The children looked confused at this.

"Why'd ya both follow me?" Nancy asked the Time Lords, "What d'ya want?"

"We want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call." the Doctor replied, "You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favour. I told ya not to answer it, that's all I'm telling ya."

"Great, thanks." the Doctor huffed, "And we wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean, a specific one, I didn't just wake up with a craving." The children all laughed at that, but Nancy wasn't impressed. Gazelle suddenly leaned over and swiped a slice of meat off the Doctor's plate. "Oi!" he huffed

"Nancy said one slice each. You took two, ya greedy pig." Gazelle retorted cheekily and began eating the slice.

Nancy came over and snatched the Doctor's plate away. "No blonde, no flags." she told him bluntly, "Anything else before you two leave?"

"Yeah, there is actually, thanks for asking." the Doctor said, reaching into his pocket. "Something we've been looking for, would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb." He pulled out a notebook. "Not the usual kind anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like..." He did a quick sketch. "This." He showed them a scribbled drawing of the cylindrical object.

Nancy looked at it intently but said nothing. Gazelle picked up on her body language, but before she could ask the Human about it, there was a knock on the window and the children all gasped.

"Mummy?" a child's voice sounded from outside, "Are you in there, mummy?"

Gazelle pulled the curtain aside to see the blonde gas mask-wearing boy that Rose had seen earlier standing by the window.

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asked urgently

"Them." Ernie answered, gesturing to the Time Lords.

"Nah, they came round the back. Who came in the front?"

"Me." Alf whispered

"Did ya close the door?" Nancy asked him

"I..." Alf began hesitantly

"Did you close the door?" Nancy repeated, sounding more urgent this time

"Mummy?" the child's voice called again, "Mummy?"

Nancy rushed down the hallway, slammed the front door shut and bolted it before the child could get in. She then backed away, looking at the shadow of the child outside the door, terrified. The Doctor had seen all of this. "What's this, then?" he asked concernedly, "It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold yer know."

"I suppose you'd know." Nancy shot back

"I do actually, yes." he retorted

"It's not exactly a child." Nancy told him and went back into the living room, "Right, everybody out, across the garden and under the fence." she ordered the children, who all just looked at her. "Now! Go! Move!" The children all jumped out of their seats and hurried out of the room, while Nancy put her coat on. Gazelle stood by the wall, watching all of this in concern. One little girl hadn't moved out of her seat. "Come on, baby." Nancy said to her, "You've gotta go, ok? It's just like a game. Just like chasing." The girl got to her feet. "Take ya coat, go on." Nancy ushered her out of the room.

The Doctor stood in the hallway watching the kids rush out of the backdoor, slightly confused. "Mummy?" the child's voice caught his attention, "Please let me in, mummy." The child stuck his hand through the letterbox, revealing an X-shaped scar on the back of it. "Please let me in, mummy."

"You alright?" the Doctor asked

"Please let me in." the child pleaded

Suddenly, a vase came flying past the Doctor and smashed against the door, causing the child to withdraw his hand. The Doctor looked round to see Nancy standing behind him, while Gazelle stood in the doorway to the dining room. "You mustn't let him touch ya!" Nancy warned

"What happens if he touches me?" the Doctor asked

"He'll make ya like him." Nancy answered grimly

"And what's he like?" Gazelle asked, concerned that everyone seemed to be frightened of this particular boy.

"I've gotta go." Nancy said evasively and turned to leave

"Nancy, what is he like." the Time Lady persisted

"He's empty." Nancy shivered. Then, the phone rang, and the Time Lords looked at it. "It's him." Nancy told them, "He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that phone box you saw."

The Doctor looked at the shadow of the child outside the door then picked up the phone. "Are you my mummy?" the child's voice came over the other end. Nancy snatched the receiver off the Doctor and slammed it back down. Then, the radio in the dining line sprang to life. Above the lively music came the same child's voice; "Mummy? Please let me in, mummy." Gazelle, who was nearest, went over to the radio and fiddled with the tuner, to no avail. Then, a toy monkey came to life. "Mummy? Muuumy, muu-my..." the child's voice filtered through the monkey.

"You two can stay here if ya want." Nancy shivered and left through the back door.

The child stuck his hand through the letterbox again. "Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Let me in."

"Your mummy isn't here I'm afraid, sweetheart." Gazelle said gently, while the Doctor knelt down to look at the scar closely.

There was a pause, then the child spoke again; "Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here." the Doctor replied, "Nobody here but us chickens." He looked behind him at the deserted house. "Well, these two chickens."

"I'm scared." the child whimpered

"Why are the other children frightened of you?" Gazelle asked

"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."

The Time Lords thought for a moment. Their parental instincts took over. "Ok, I'm opening the door now." the Doctor said. The child withdrew his hand. The Doctor drew the bolt back and opened the door, but the child had disappeared. The Time Lords walked down the path and looked down both ends of the road, but there was no sign of the child. "Blimey, he's quick on his feet." the Doctor muttered

"I think we need to find Nancy." Gazelle told him, "She clearly knows something about that thing we're looking for."

~8~

Rose awoke to find herself lying on a bunk bed. She got up and looked around at her surroundings. She appeared to be inside a spaceship. "Better now?" the American man's voice called

"You got lights in here?" Rose asked

The man flipped a switch, and the lights came on to reveal him sitting in the pilot's chair. "Hello." he grinned

"Hello." Rose said back

"Hello." he repeated

"Let's not start that again." Rose laughed

"Ok." he laughed back

Rose took a few steps closer to him. "So, um... who're you s'posed to be, then?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, 133 Squadron, Royal Air Force, American volunteer." the man replied, handing Rose what appeared to be an ID card.

Rose looked at it. "Liar." she snorted, "This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me."

"How do you know?" Jack asked, caught out

"Two thing." Rose answered back, "One, I have two friends who use this all the time. And two, you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out."

"Tricky thing, psychic paper." Jack remarked, taking the paper back off her.

"Yeah. Can't let ya mind wander when ya handing it over."

Jack read the paper. "Oh, you 'sort of' have a boyfriend called Mickey Smith but you consider yourself to be footloose and fancy free."

"What..." an embarrassed Rose laughed

"Actually, the word you use is 'available'."

"No way..."

"And another one, 'very.'"

"Shall we, uh... try to get along without the psychic paper?" Rose asked, standing up.

"That would be better, wouldn't it?" Jack said, also standing.

"Nice spaceship." Rose commented, giving the ship the once over.

"Gets me around." Jack replied nonchalantly

"Very... Spock."

"Who?"

"Guessing ya not a local boy, then." Rose shrugged

Jack looked at a device on his wrist, having scanned Rose while beaming her onboard. "A cell phone, a liquid crystal watch and fabrics that won't be around for another two decades." he fired off, "Guessing you're not a local girl."

Rose sat down in the pilot's seat, examining the ship. "Guessing right." she said and leaned forward to look out of the viewport. She placed her hands down on the ledge, only to wince in pain and pull them away. She looked at her hands to see that they were badly blistered.

"Burn ya hands on the rope?" Jack asked

"Yeah." Rose replied and had another look out the viewport. "We're parked in mid-air! Can't anyone down there see us?"

"No." Jack replied calmly, "Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?"

"Why?" Rose asked suspiciously

"Please?" Jack repeated, and Rose held her hands out in front of him. He then ran a scanner over them. "You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are. I can smell a Time Agent a mile away."

"Time Agent?" Rose frowned

"I've been expecting one of you guys to show up." Jack continued, "Though not, I must say, by barrage balloon. Do you often travel that way?"

"Sometimes I get swept off my feet." Rose retorted, "By balloons. What're ya doing? she asked as Jack took off his scarf and tied it around Rose's wrists.

"Try to keep still." Jack instructed as he finished binding her hands. He pressed a button on the control panel and what appeared to be golden fireflies appeared above the wounds on Rose's hands. "Nanogenes." Jack explained, "Sub-atomic robots. The air in here's full of 'em." He pressed the button and the nanogenes disappeared, leaving Rose's hands good as new. "They just repaired three layers of your skin." Jack finished as he retrieved his scarf.

"Well, tell 'em thanks!" Rose laughed

"Shall we get down to business?" Jack said, walking down the ship.

"Business?"

Jack picked up a bottle of champagne. "Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" He pressed a button and a set of steps lowered from the ceiling. "Bring up the glasses." Jack said as he went up the steps.

Rose found a pair of drinking glasses and cautiously followed him upstairs to find that they were standing atop an invisible ship beside the Westminster clock tower. "I'm standing on something." Rose laughed nervously. Jack chuckled and took out what appeared to be a key fob from his pocket. He pressed a button and a sleek-looking ship appeared beneath their feet. "Ok, you have an invisible spaceship." Rose breathed

"Yeah."

"Tethered up to Big Ben for some reason."

"First rule of active camouflage. Park somewhere you'll remember." Jack said and popped the cork on the bottle, then poured them both drinks.

~8~

Meanwhile, Nancy had gone to some railway sidings. She snuck into the cab of a tank engine that had been disabled by enemy action and began stashing the food she'd acquired from the house into the firebox. She suddenly became aware of the presence of other people and spud round to see the Doctor and Gazelle standing by the cab's entrance. "How'd you two follow me here?" Nancy questioned

"We're good at following, us." the Doctor replied casually, "I've got the nose for it, and she's got the eyes for it." He gestured to Gazelle.

"People can't usually follow me if I don't want 'em to." Nancy said suspiciously

"His nose has special powers." Gazelle replied

"Yeah?" Nancy snorted, "Is that why it's so..."

"What?" the Doctor asked, while Gazelle sniggered.

"Nothing! Do ya ears have special powers too?" Nancy asked teasingly

"What're yer trying to say?" the Doctor huffed, knowing full what she was trying to say.

"Goodnight, mister." Nancy said and turned to leave.

Gazelle stopped sniggering. "Nancy." she called, "There's something chasing you and the other kids, something that looks like a boy, but isn't a boy. And would I be right in guessing that it started about a month ago, right?"

Nancy stopped and turned around.

"The thing we're looking for." the Doctor added, "The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what we're talking about, don't you."

"There was a bomb." Nancy said slowly, "A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green station."

"Take us there." the Doctor said

Nancy shook her head. "There's soldiers guarding it, barbed wire... you'll never get through."

"Try me." the Doctor said simply

"You sure ya really wanna know what's going on in there?"

"We really wanna know."

"Then there's someone ya need to talk to first."

"And who's that?" Gazelle asked

"The doctor." Nancy replied and turned away.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose was finishing her champagne. "Ya know, it's getting a bit late." she said as she got to her feet, "I should really be getting back."

"We're discussing business." Jack replied casually, lounging on the hull of his ship.

"This isn't business." Rose smiled, "This is champagne."

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head." Jack retorted, standing up, "Are you travelling alone? Are you authorised to negotiate with me?"

"What would we be negotiating?" Rose asked, going along with it.

"I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy. Are you empowered to make payment?"

"Well, I, I should talk to my... companions."

"Companions?" Jack raised a brow.

"Yeah, I should really be getting back to 'em." Rose said, realising that the Time Lords were probably going out of their minds with worry.

"Them?"

Rose checked her watch, only to remember that it was set to TARDIS time. "D'ya have the time?" she asked Jack, who pressed his key fob and the clock tower chimed next to time. "Ok, that was flash." Rose laughed, "Th... that was on the flash side."

Jack moved closer and placed his hands on Rose's waist. "So... when you say 'companions', just how disappointed should I be?"

"Ok, we're standing in mid-air, on a spaceship during a German air raid." Rose stated flatly, "D'ya really think now's a good time to be coming onto me?"

"Perhaps not." Jack said and walked away from her.

"Well, it was just a suggestion." Rose said hastily

Jack turned back to her. "D'you like Glen Miller?" he asked and pressed his key fob again, causing Moonlight Serenade to play. He walked back to Rose, and they began to slow dance. "It's 1941. The height of the London Blitz." Jack said, "The height of the German bombing campaign. And something else has fallen on London, a fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth." He drew back to look at Rose properly. "And I know where it is. Because I parked it." Rose laughed at that. "If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for ya." Jack continued, "But in two hours, a German bomb is gonna fall on it and destroy it forever." He looked at her and his tone became more serious. "That's the deadline. That's the deal. And now, shall we discuss payment?"

"D'ya know what I think?" Rose mumbled

"What?"

"I think you were talking just there..." Rose said dreamily

"Two hours, the bomb falls." Jack told her seriously, "There'll be nothing left but dust and a crater."

"Promises, promises..." Rose mumbled

"Are you listening to any of this?" Jack asked, shaking her slightly.

Rose sobered up. "You used to be a Time Agent, now ya some kinda free-lancer."

"Ooh, that's a little harsh." Jack remarked, "I like to think of myself as a criminal."

"I bet ya do!" Rose laughed

"So, these companions of yours, do they handle the business?"

"Well, I delegate a lot of that, yeah."

"Well, maybe we should go find them."

"And how're you gonna do that?" Rose asked

"Easy. I'll do a scan for alien tech." Jack replied, pulling away from Rose and starting fiddling with the device on his wrist.

"Finally, a professional." Rose smirked to herself. She wasn't demeaning the Time Lords, but she found it odd that despite having a TARDIS full of advanced technology at their disposal, they both preferred to use old fashioned methods. At least Gazelle had given Rose lessons on how to use the sonic screwdrivers, but the Doctor seemed rather stingy on letting Rose play around with their tech.

~8~

Meanwhile, the two Time Lords in question were standing on a footbridge a short distance from the bomb site, using their binoculars to survey the site, while Nancy stood behind them. "The bomb's under that tarpaulin." she explained, "They put that fence up overnight. See that building? The hospital."

The Time Lords shifted their attention to a nearby building. "What about it?" the Doctor asked

"That's where the doctor is." Nancy replied

Gazelle zoomed her binoculars in on the hospital gates. It was Albion Hospital, the same hospital where the pig had been taken to during the Slitheen incident. "Small world." she muttered

"You should talk to him." Nancy continued

"For now, we're more interested in getting in there." the Doctor replied, moving his binoculars back to the bomb site.

"Talk to the doctor first." Nancy insisted

"Why?"

"Cos' then maybe ya won't wanna get inside." Nancy retorted and began to walk back up the steps.

Gazelle lowered her binoculars and turned her. "Where're you going?" she asked the Human.

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got a lot of mouths to feed." Nancy replied, "Should be safe enough now."

"Who did ya loose, Nancy?" Gazelle asked

"What?"

"The way you look after all those other kids, it's because you've lost someone close to ya, isn't it? You're doing this to make up for it."

"My little brother, Jamie." Nancy sighed, "One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, told him it was dangerous, but he just..."

"He didn't listen and followed ya anyway." Gazelle finished.

"He just didn't like being on his own." Nancy confirmed.

The Doctor lowered his binoculars and turned to them. "What happened?" he asked

"In the middle of an air raid? What d'ya think happened?" Nancy retorted

"I'm sorry, Nancy." Gazelle said sympathetically, "I had an older brother who died in a war too."

They were all silent for a moment, then the Doctor looked to the sky and smiled. "Amazing." he remarked

"What is?" Nancy frowned

"1941." the Doctor replied, "Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one tiny, damp little island says 'no. No, not here.'"

"A mouse in front of a lion. Drawing a line in the sand." Gazelle added

"Yer amazing, the lot of you." the Doctor said to Nancy, "Dunno what yer do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell outta me. Off yer go then... do what you've gotta do. Save the world."

The Time Lords went down the footsteps and made their way to Albion Hospital, while Nancy went off back towards the house she was at earlier.

~8~

When the Time Lords reached the hospital, they found the gates padlocked and a notice warning people to keep out. The Doctor made short work of the padlock with his sonic screwdriver and they entered the building. They found the hospital deserted. After wandering through a few corridors, they entered a darkened ward, where they saw rows upon rows of patients lying on the beds, all wearing gas masks for some reason and completely lifeless. The Time Lords went back into the corridor and headed into another ward, which had some lights on, and was also full of lifeless, gas mask-wearing patients. They heard a noise from behind them and turned to see an elderly man in a doctor's coat enter the ward. "You'll find them everywhere." he told them, "Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them."

"Yes, we saw." the Doctor replied, "Why are they still wearing gas masks?"

"They're not." the man answered, "Who are you?"

"I'm, uh... are you the doctor?"

"Dr Constantine. And you are"

"Nancy sent us." Gazelle answered this time

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes." the Doctor confirmed

"What do you know about it?" Dr Constantine asked

"Nothing. Why we were asking. What do you know about it?"

"Only what it's done." Dr Constantine sighed

"These people, they were all caught up in the blast?" the Doctor asked

"None of them were." Dr Constantine replied, then suddenly went into a coughing fit and sat down in a chair behind him.

"You're very sick." Gazelle observed, noticing just how nasty the coughs sounded.

"Dying, I should think, my dear. I just haven't been able to find the time." Dr Constantine replied, then turned to the Doctor. "Are you a doctor?"

"I have my moments." he replied

"Have you examined any of them yet?" Dr Constantine asked

"No."

"Don't touch the flesh." Dr Constantine warned ominously

"Which one?"

"Any one."

The Doctor went over to the nearest bed and scanned it's occupant with his sonic screwdriver.

"Conclusions?" Dr Constantine asked

"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side." the Doctor replied, then ran the sonic screwdriver over the patient's chest. "Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any burns."

"Examine another one." Dr Constantine said

The Doctor nodded to Gazelle, who went over to a patient on the other side of the ward and scanned them with her sonic screwdriver. "Same here." she frowned, "Now that can't be right." The injuries were exactly the same as the patient the Doctor had examined.

Examine another." Dr Constantine said, and the Doctor hurried to another bed to do so, while Gazelle did the same on her side of the ward.

"This isn't possible!" the Doctor frowned

"No." Dr Constantine nodded

"They've all got the same injuries." Gazelle said

"Yes." Dr Constantine agreed

"Exactly the same." the Doctor remarked

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand." the Doctor rambled, neither he or Gazelle noticing that Dr Constantine had that very scar on the back of his hand.

"How the hell did all this happen?" Gazelle asked, "How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim." Dr Constantine explained

"Dead?" the Doctor asked

"At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries, as plague. Can either of you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma?" the Doctor asked

"No."

"Asphyxiation?"

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity?" Gazelle offered

"No." Dr Constantine repeated

The Doctor gave up. "All right, what was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one." Dr Constantine replied grimly, "They're not dead." He whacked his walking stick against the bin next to him and the patients all sprang upright in bed. The Time Lords recoiled in alarm. "It's alright." Dr Constantine reassured them, "They're harmless. They just... sort of, sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just... don't die."

"And they've just been left here?" the Doctor stared in disgust, "Nobody's doing anything?"

"I try and make them comfortable, what else is there?" Dr Constantine replied as the patients lay down again.

"It's just you?" Gazelle asked, noticing that some of the patients were in hospital uniforms, "You're the only person left?"

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather." Dr Constantine told her, "Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor."

"Yeah. I know the feeling." the Doctor sighed, and Gazelle rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb." Dr Constantine said

"Probably too late." the Doctor said grimly, looking around.

"No. There are isolated cases..." Dr Constantine began, sounding like it was getting harder to speak. "But... isolated cases breaking out all over London..." He erupted into another hacking coughing fit. The Time Lords started towards him, but he waved them back. "Stay back." he warned, and they noticed the scar on his hand. "Listen to me... top floor. Room 802, that's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

"Nancy?" the Doctor frowned

"It was her brother." Dr Constantine gasped out, "She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi... mi.." He gagged and clutched his neck. "M... mu... mee... Are... you... my... mum-my?"

The Doctor and Gazelle could both only watch in horror as a gas mask emerged from Dr Constantine's mouth and spread across his face like a rash, his eyes bulging into goggles and he slumped in his chair, his face fully transformed into a gas mask.

There was a stunned silence from the Time Lords, with Gazelle feeling rather sick at what she had just seen. Suddenly, they heard an American-accented voice calling out in the distance, "Hello?"

Then they heard a familiar London-accented voice, "Hello?"

The Time Lords stepped out into the corridor to see Rose and Jack coming the other way. "Good evening." Jack greeted, "Hope I'm not interrupting, Jack Harkness." He shook the Doctor's hand. "I've been hearing all about you both on the way other."

"He knows." Rose told the Time Lords, "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

The Doctor nodded, deciding to go along with that for now.

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr Spock." Jack said, patting the Doctor on the shoulder. The Doctor stared bemused, while Gazelle couldn't help but smirk at that. Her smirk dropped when Jack turned to her. "And this gorgeous young lady must be Gazelle. Very pleased to meet you." He kissed her hand. "Rose told me all about you, but she never said you were such a royal beauty!" He flashed her a smile and walked on.

"And I thought that Aplan architect was a flirt." Gazelle muttered, then turned to see the Doctor glaring after Jack with a look on his face that was practically murderous. "What's the matter with you?" she asked him

"Nothing." he grunted, then turned to Rose; "Mr Spock?"

"What was I s'posed to say?" Rose defended, "Ya don't have a name. Don't ya ever get tired of 'Doctor?' Doctor who?"

"Nine centuries in, I'm coping." the Doctor retorted, "Where've yer been? We're in the middle of the London Blitz, it's not a good time for a stroll."

"Who's strolling?" Rose remarked, going after Jack. "I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."

"What?!" the Time Lords said in unison as they began to follow her.

"Listen, what's a Chula warship?" Rose asked

The Doctor stopped. "Chula?" he muttered

"On to something?" Gazelle asked

"Maybe." the Doctor replied, "But I'll have to check with Casanova in there to be sure."

"Well, after you, Mr Spock." Gazelle teased

"Of all the names she could've chosen, it would have to be Spock!" the Doctor grumbled

"Well, you told me you gave them the idea for the Vulcan mind meld, so I suppose it's appropriate." Gazelle shrugged.

The Doctor just grunted, and they headed off after the Humans.

~8~

Jack was soon busy scanning one of the patients in the ward with the device on his wrist, which the Time Lords recognised as a Time Agent's Vortex Manipulator. "This just isn't possible." he frowned, "How could this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" the Doctor interrogated

"What?"

"He said it was a warship." Rose explained, "He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it unless we make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?" the Doctor questioned Jack

"Does it matter?" Jack shot back agitated, "It's got nothing to do with this!"

"This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it." the Doctor retorted angrily, "What kind of warship?"

"An ambulance!" Jack huffed, "Look." He brought up a hologram of the cylindrical object on his Vortex Manipulator. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty, I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle, love the retro look by the way, nice panels, threw you the bait..."

"Bait?" Rose questioned

"I wanted to sell it to you and destroy it before ya found out it was junk." Jack huffed and turned the hologram off.

"You said it was a warship." Rose accused

"They have ambulances in wars." Jack retorted and walked away from them in a huff. "It was a con. I was conning you, that's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents, you're not, are you?"

"Just three more freelancers." Rose muttered

"Oh, should've know. The way you guys are blending into the local colour." Jack scoffed, "I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but Biker Chick and U-boat captain?"

The trio all looked uncomfortably at their clothes.

"Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship." Jack insisted

"What is happening here?" Rose asked the Time Lords, looking around the ward.

"Human DNA's being rewritten..." the Doctor replied, "By an idiot."

"What d'ya mean?"

"There's some kinda virus that's turning people into these things." Gazelle told her, "But why? What's the point?"

Rose went over to one of the patients to examine it, when it suddenly sat bolt upright, as did all the others, all saying "Mummy?" repeatedly

"What's happening?" Rose gasped, backing up to join the others.

"I don't know." the Doctor replied. The patients all got up out of bed and began to advance on the quartet. "Don't let them touch you." the Doctor warned the two Humans

"What happens if they touch us?" Rose asked

"Ya looking at it." Gazelle replied grimly

The patients continued to advance, still chanting "Mummy" as they backed the quartet against the wall, enclosing them ready to make them the next victims of their plague.

To be continued...

Chapter Text

The patients continued to advance on the quartet, completely surrounding them. The Doctor stared sternly around at them. "Go to your room." he ordered as though he were addressing a disobedient child. The patients hesitated. "Go to your room!" the Doctor repeated. The patients all cocked their heads to one side. "I mean it!" the Doctor continued sternly, "I am very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross! Go... to... your... ROOM!" he thundered, pointing violently in no particular direction.

The patients all turned meekly away, their heads down as if they were sulking, and climbed back into their beds.

"I'm really glad that worked." the Doctor grinned in relief, "Those would've been terrible last words."

"At least they'd be better than 'Are you my mummy?' or 'I don't wanna go.'" Gazelle said dryly

With the danger over for now, Rose went over to one of the beds to examine one of the patients, while Jack settled down in a chair. "Why're they all wearing gas masks?" Rose wandered

"They're not. The masks are flesh and bone." Jack replied

"How was yer con supposed to work?" the Doctor interrogated

"Simple enough, really." Jack replied, "Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth. Convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% upfront, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."

"Yeah, perfect." the Doctor muttered darkly

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners." Jack continued flippantly, "Pompeii's nice if ya wanna make a vacation of it, though. But you've gotta set ya alarm for volcano day." He laughed at his own joke but stopped when he saw both Time Lords glaring daggers at him. "Getting a hint of disapproval."

"Why don't ya take a look around this room?" Gazelle told him icily, "This is what your 'harmless'..." She used air quotes. "Space junk did."

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter, it was empty." Jack insisted

The Time Lords just gave him dark looks and turned to leave. "Rose." Gazelle called

"We getting out of here?" Rose asked

"We're going upstairs." the Doctor replied, he and Gazelle heading for the door. Rose got up to follow them.

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living, I harmed no-one!" Jack insisted, getting up too, "I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."

"I'll tell you what's happening." the Doctor retorted sharply, "You forgot to set yer alarm clock. It's volcano day."

A siren wailed in the distance. "What's that?" Rose asked

"The all-clear." Jack replied

"I wish." the Doctor scoffed and strode grimly out of the ward, Gazelle hot on his heels.

~8~

The Time Lords were quick on their feet and Rose and Jack had soon lost them. "Mr Spock? Gazelle?" Jack called

"Doctor? Gazelle?" Rose called as they wandered the halls

"Up here." Gazelle's voice called and the Humans doubled back to a flight of stairs to see the Time Lady leaning over the banister.

The Doctor popped his head over as well. "Have you got a blaster?" he called

"Sure!" Jack answered, and he and Rose hurried up the stairs to join the Time Lords outside the door to room 802.

"The night your space junk landed, someone was hurt." the Doctor explained, "This is where they were taken."

"What happened?" Rose asked

"Let's find out." Gazelle replied, and turned to Jack. "Can ya get this door open, Flirt Boy?"

"Are you gorgeous as heck?" Jack grinned, and stepped forwards towards the door.

"What's wrong with your sonic screwdrivers?" Rose asked the Time Lords

"Nothing." the Doctor grunted, glaring at Jack again, not at all happy with his flirting with Gazelle.

Jack pulled out a futuristic-looking gun and fired a square-shaped beam of blue energy at the door, cutting a perfectly square-shaped hole in the lock.

"Sonic blaster, 51st century." the Doctor noted as Jack pulled the door open, "Weapon factories of Villengard."

"You've been to the factories?" Jack asked

"Once." the Doctor replied, taking the blaster and examining it.

"Well, they're gone now. Destroyed. The main reactor went critical, vaporised the lot."

"Like I said, once." the Doctor said casually, handing Jack the blaster back, "There's a banana grove there now. I like bananas. Bananas are good." He smiled pleasantly at Jack and entered the room, Gazelle following him.

"Nice blast pattern." Rose commented, looking at the perfectly square-shaped hole.

"Digital." Jack shrugged

"Squareness gun?"

"Yeah."

"I like it." Rose remarked and went into the room. Jack laughed then followed her inside.

The Doctor switched the light on to reveal that room 802 appeared to have been vandalised. The window was broken, and furniture was overturned. "What d'yer think?" the Doctor asked no one in particular

"Something got outta here." Jack observed

"Yeah. And?"

"Something powerful. Angry."

"Powerful and angry." the Doctor murmured in agreement

Gazelle, Jack and Rose entered a room off to the side. The floor and walls were covered with child's drawings. There were a few toys on the floor and a little bed in the corner. "A child?" Jack stared, "I suppose this explains 'mummy'."

"How could a child do this?" Rose asked Gazelle

The Time Lady didn't answer, she just looked around the room with a sad expression.

The Doctor found a tape recorder and switched it on. "Do you know where you are?" Dr Constantine's voice asked

"Are you my mummy?" the child's voice asked

"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you... see?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"What do you want? Do you know..."

"I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy?"

Gazelle looked around the room. All of the drawings depicted the child's mother. Her hearts went out for the poor boy.

"I've heard this voice before." Rose frowned

"Us too." the Doctor replied softly

"Mummy?"

"Always 'are you my mummy?' Like he doesn't know." Gazelle sighed

"Mummy?"

"Why doesn't he know?" Rose asked

"Are you there, mummy? Mummy?"

Gazelle continued to look around at the drawings while the Doctor stared blankly at the tape. Rose could see in both Time Lords' eyes that they were empathising with the child. After Van Statten's museum, Gazelle had told Rose a bit about the Time War and how families were torn apart, with children left scared and alone after their parents and siblings were butchered by the Daleks. This child's pleas were clearly reminding them both of all those horrors they'd witnessed.

Presently, the Doctor joined them in the other room and began pacing. "Mummy?" the child's voice said on the tape, "Please, mummy? Mummy?"

"Doctor?" Rose asked

"Can you sense it?" the Doctor asked in response

"Sense what?" Jack asked

"Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?"

"Mummy?"

"He's so scared and lonely." Gazelle sighed, understanding what the Doctor was talking about.

The Doctor stopped pacing and turned to look at the two Humans, who were both just looking at them blankly. "Funny little Human brains, how d'yer get around in those things?" he remarked

"Oi, didn't we talk about this?" Gazelle scolded

"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species." Rose said to Jack

"Rose, I'm thinking." the Doctor retorted, resuming his pacing.

"Cuts himself shaving, does half-an-hour on life forms he's clever than." Rose continued

The Doctor stopped pacing and turned to face the others, his back to the window. "There are these children, living rough round the bomb sites. They come out during air raids looking for food." he mused

"Mummy, please?"

"Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed?" the Doctor continued

"It was a med-ship. It was harmless." Jack insisted again

"Yes, you keep saying 'harmless'." the Doctor waved him off, "Suppose one of them was affected, altered?"

"Altered, how?" Rose asked

"I'm here!"

"He's afraid." Gazelle said, having followed the Doctor's train of thought, "He's terribly afraid, but also very powerful."

"He doesn't know it yet, but he soon will." the Doctor agreed, then gave a small laugh. "He's got the power of a god and I just sent him to his room."

Then, they all noticed a loud crackling sound filling the room. "Doctor..." Rose breathed nervously

"I'm here." the child's voice called, "Can't you see me?"

"What's that noise?" Rose asked

The Doctor's smile faded. "The end of the tape." he breathed, "It ran out about 30 seconds ago."

"I'm here now. Can't you see me?" the child's voice called

"I sent him to his room." the Doctor said quietly, "This is his room." He spun round to see the child standing by the tape machine in the other room.

"Are you my mummy?" the child asked, cocking his head to the side, considering the two women in the room.

"Doctor? Gazelle?" Rose breathed, hoping one or both of them had an idea of how to get out of this.

Jack stepped forward. "Ok... on my signal... make for the door. Now!" He violently produced a banana and pointed it threateningly at the child.

The Doctor grinned and nodded to Gazelle, who pulled Jack's blaster out of her jacket pocket and fired at the wall, blasting a large square hole in the wall. "Go! Now!" the Doctor urged, "Don't drop the banana!"

"Why not?!" Jack asked, hopping through the hole in the wall with Rose.

"Good source of potassium!" the Doctor shot back as he and Gazelle scrambled through after them.

The quartet found themselves back in a corridor. The child approached them from inside the room. "Gimme that!" Jack said, snatching his blaster back off Gazelle.

"Are you my mummy?" the child asked as it advanced towards the hole.

Jack fired at the wall, and it rebuilt itself, blocking the child out. "Digital rewind." Jack explained to Rose, and tossed the banana to the Time Lady. "Nice switch." he remarked

"It's from Villengard. We thought it was appropriate." Gazelle replied, handing the banana to the Doctor.

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you two did that?"

"He did." Gazelle said, jerking a thumb at the Doctor, "That was before I met him."

"Bananas are good." the Doctor said simply

Suddenly, there was an almighty thump from the other side of the wall, which began to crack. "Doctor!" Rose hollered

"Come on!" the Doctor urged, and led the quartet down the hall.

They rushed down a short flight of steps and down another corridor, only to see a group of infected patients burst out of the ward ahead, all calling for their mummy. The quartet hastily backtracked, but they found more patients coming from the other direction too. They found themselves back at the point they'd started, where the child was breaking through the wall.

"He's keeping us here till he can get at us." the Doctor realised

"He's controlling them?" Jack asked, waving his blaster around

"He is them." the Doctor told him, "He's every living thing in this hospital."

"Ok. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon and a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter." Jack said as he continued to wave his blaster around, "Doc, Gaz, what you two got?"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "We've got sonic, er... oh, never mind." he tailed off, realising that a screwdriver wouldn't do much damage.

"What?"

"We've both got sonic devices, ok." Gazelle told him, "Let's just leave it at that."

"Disrupters? Cannons? What?" Jack persisted

"They're sonic!" the Doctor waved him off, "Totally sonic. We are sonic-ed up!"

"With sonic whats?!"

"SCREWDRIVERS!" the Doctor yelled, holding the device in question up.

Jack spun round and stared at him.

"We don't have time for this!" Gazelle reminded, and at that moment, reinforcing her point, the child managed to punch through the wall and began to climb through.

Rose grabbed Jack's wrist and forced him to aim the sonic blaster at the floor. "Going down!" she called and blasted a hole in the floor, causing them all to fall in a messy heap on the floor of the darkened room below. Jack hurriedly activated the digital rewind, sealing the hole so that they couldn't be followed. "Is everyone ok?" Rose asked

"Yeah, good thinking, Rose." Gazelle replied

"Could've used a warning, though." the Doctor grumbled, nursing his sore backside.

"Ugh, the gratitude." Rose muttered as they all stood up and brushed themselves off.

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack asked

"We do!" the Doctor retorted

"Lights!" Rose called

"On it." Gazelle replied, taking out her sonic screwdriver and using it's penlight function to illuminate the part of the room they were standing in with it's blue light. "That better?" she asked

"Yeah." Rose answered, "At least until I can find the light switch." She began to look around for one, while Gazelle used her sonic to check the room.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?" Jack scoffed

"What yer've never been bored?" the Doctor replied indignantly

"There's gotta be a light switch." Rose muttered as she looked around the room.

"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" the Doctor continued to defend his beloved sonic screwdriver.

Rose finally found a light switch and moved to turn it on. Gazelle, who was using her sonic screwdriver as a torch, suddenly noticed something. "Rose, no!" she hollered, but it was too late.

Rose turned the lights on to reveal that they were in a ward full of infected patients, who all promptly sat upright in bed and called out for their mummy. "Door." Jack urged, and the quartet rushed to the door at the end of the ward as the patients started getting out of bed. Finding the door locked, Jack aimed his blaster at the lock and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. "Damn it!" he groaned and stepped back to allow Gazelle to unlock the door with her sonic screwdriver, "It's the special features, they really drain the battery." Jack explained to Rose

"The battery?!" Rose questioned as the door was opened and Gazelle ushered her through it, "That's so lame!" 51st century, and they still relied on batteries!

They found themselves in a storeroom. The Doctor slammed the door shut behind them and locked it with his sonic screwdriver, while Jack ran to the window and checked it. "I was gonna send for another one." he said to Rose, "But someone's gotta blow up the factory!" He levelled a glare at the Doctor

"Oh, I know." Rose replied, "First day I met 'em, they blew my job up. That's practically how they communicate."

The Doctor finished with the lock. "Ok, that door should hold them for a bit." he announced, going to check the room.

"The door?! The wall didn't stop him!" Jack scoffed

"Well, he's gotta find us first!" the Doctor retorted, "C'mon, we're not done yet. Assets, assets."

"Well, I've got a banana and, in a pinch, you two could put up some shelves." Jack said flatly

"What about the window?" Gazelle asked, climbing up on the counter to check it.

"Barred, sheer drop outside. Seven storeys." Jack told her

"And no other exists." Rose added, looking around the room.

"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" Jack huffed, sitting down in a wheelchair.

The Time Lords turned and eyed him for a moment. "You're an optimistic one, aren't ya?" Gazelle commented dryly

The Doctor turned to Rose. "So, where'd yer pick this one up, then?" he grunted

"Doctor..." Rose warned

"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance." Jack grinned, causing Rose to look embarrassed.

"Ok, one; we've gotta get out of here." the Doctor thought aloud, "Two; we can't get out of 'ere. Have I missed anything?"

"Yeah, Flirt Boy's gone." Gazelle said

The Doctor and Rose spun round to see Jack's empty wheelchair. "How'd he do that?" Rose stared

"He teleported." Gazelle replied, then she and the Doctor sat down to think, while Rose paced around the room

"Ok, so he's vanished into thin air." Rose remarked, "Why's it always the great looking ones who do that?"

The Doctor peered up at her, giving her a look. "I'm making an effort not to be insulted." he grumbled

"You're better-looking than Flirt Boy." Gazelle assured him

"Thanks, royal beauty." the Doctor teased

"Not gonna hear the end of that anytime soon, am I?" Gazelle groaned, then turned to Rose. "And may I remind you, Rose, you have a boyfriend back home."

"Yeah..." Rose said slowly but was saved from being questioned further when a discarded radio crackled to life.

"Rose? Doctor? Gazelle?" Jack's voice came through the radio, "Can you hear me?" The trio hurried over to the radio and the Doctor picked it up. "I'm back on my ship." Jack said, "Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you three. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it, hang in there."

The Doctor noticed that the radio wasn't even wired up to a plug. "How're you speaking to us?" he asked

"Om-comn." Jack replied, "I can call anything with a speaker grille."

"Now there's a coincidence." the Doctor remarked

"What is?"

"The child can om-comn too."

"He can?" Rose questioned

"Anything with a speaker grille." Gazelle replied, "Radios, phones, toy monkeys... even the TARDIS' phone."

"What, d'ya mean the child can phone us?"

"And I can hear you." the child's voice came over the radio, "Coming to find you. Coming to fiiiind you!"

"Doctor, can ya hear that?" Jack asked

"Loud and clear." the Doctor replied

"I'll try and block out the signal. Least I can do." Jack said

"Coming to find you, mummy." the child said

"Remember this one, Rose?" Jack said and Moonlight Serenade began to play.

The Time Lords looked at Rose questioningly. "Our song." she replied, a little embarrassed.

~8~

Presently, a bored Rose was shuffling around in the wheelchair. The Doctor was standing by the window, running his sonic screwdriver over the bars, while Gazelle leaned against the wall, watching him. "What you doing?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Trying to set up a resonance pattern in the concrete." he replied, "Loosen the bars."

"You do realise that even if ya do get those bars off, there's a seven-storey drop outside?" Gazelle remarked

"I'll cross that bridge when we come to it." the Doctor replied

"You don't think he's coming back, do ya?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"Wouldn't bet my life." he retorted

"Why don't ya trust him?"

"Why do you?"

"Saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing."

"You shouldn't get too attached to him, Rose." Gazelle said, "He's from the 51st century, they flirt with anything that moves."

"Jealous?" Rose teased

"He's not my type." Gazelle replied dryly. "'Royal beauty' indeed." she scoffed and turned back to watch the Doctor work.

Rose turned back to the Doctor, "I trust him cos' he's like you. Except with dating and dancing."

The Doctor shot her a look.

"What?" Rose questioned

"Yer just assume I'm..." the Doctor began

"What?"

"You just assume that I don't... dance."

"What, are ya telling me you do... dance?" Rose smirked

"900 years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume that at some point I've danced."

Rose grinned even more; "You?!"

"Problem?"

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you... dance?" Rose sniggered

"Well, I've got the moves, but I wouldn't wanna boast." the Doctor said off-handily

"You've seen him dance, Rose." Gazelle said, "Remember the juke box on Platform One?"

"She doesn't mean that kind of dancing." the Doctor told her quietly, then whispered in her ear, causing her eyes to widen slightly at the true meaning.

"Oh." Gazelle said flatly, "Humans and their slang terms. 50 years of travelling, and I still don't understand half of them." she muttered.

Rose smirked at the little misunderstanding and went over to the radio. She turned the radio up and walked back to the Doctor. "You''ve got the moves?" she said, holding her hand out to him, "Show me ya moves."

"Rose, I'm trying to resonate concrete." the Doctor replied flatly

"Jack'll be back, he'll get us out." Rose said, keeping her hand out. "So c'mon, the world doesn't end cos' the Doctor dances."

The Doctor looked to Gazelle. "Go on." she told him, "I'll take over the resonating."

The Doctor switched off his sonic screwdriver, put it away and climbed down to join Rose, while Gazelle climbed up to the window and took over sonicing the bars. The Doctor took Rose's hands. "Barrage balloon?" he questioned

"What?" Rose questioned, completely lost.

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon." the Doctor said, turning Rose's hands over.

"Oh... yeah. About two minutes after you two left me. Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air raid, Union Jack across my chest." Rose said flippantly

The Doctor raised his brows. "I've travelled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy-friendly." he said dryly

"Yeah, looks like we need to have a little chat about this constant wandering off of yours." Gazelle added sternly

"Is this you dancing?" Rose huffed, not liking their parent-like tones. "Cos' I've got notes."

The Doctor looked at Rose's hands again. "Hanging from a rope a thousand feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Yeah, I know." Rose replied, "Captain Jack fixed me up..."

"Oh, we're calling him Captain Jack now, are we?"

"Well, his name's Jack and he's a captain."

"He's not really a captain, Rose." the Doctor said in a self-satisfied way

"D'ya know what I think? I think you're experiencing captain envy." Rose teased, "You'll find ya feet at end of your legs. You may care to move them."

Gazelle meanwhile was working on the window, tuning out the other's conversation. Suddenly, the wall and window in front of her were replaced by the interior of a spaceship. She looked round to see Jack sitting in his chair at the other end while the Doctor and Rose stood in the middle, completely oblivious to the change to their surroundings. Jack motioned for the Time Lady to keep quiet, enjoying the others' ignorance.

"If ever he was a captain, he's been defrocked." the Doctor said to Rose

"Yeah? Shame I missed that." Rose retorted

"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock." Jack spoke up, attracting their attention, "Most people notice when they've been teleported. Ya friend over there did." He gestured to Gazelle, who came forward to stand by her friends. "You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security."

"If it takes ya ten minutes to override ya own protocols, maybe you should remember who's ship this is." Gazelle remarked

"Oh, I do. She was gorgeous." Jack smirked, "Though, not as much as you." he winked, causing Gazelle to roll her eyes and the Doctor to give Jack another death glare. "Like I told her, be back in five minutes." He ducked into a compartment underneath the console.

The Doctor stopped glaring and looked around at the ship. "This is a Chula ship." he recognised

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter." Jack called up, "Only, this one is dangerous."

The Doctor snapped his fingers, and his hand was instantly surrounded by nanogenes. "They're what fixed my hands up." Rose remembered, "Jack called 'em, um..."

"Nanobots? Nanogenes?" the Doctor offered

"Nanogenes, yeah."

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of 'em in here, see?" the Doctor explained, "Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulkhead's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws."

"Like our regeneration energy." Gazelle nodded

"Yeah." the Doctor replied and waved the nanogenes away, then turned to Jack. "Take us to the crash site. I need to see yer space junk."

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online" Jack replied, "Make yourselves comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were..." He gestured between the Doctor and Rose. "Doing."

"We were talking about dancing." the Doctor said innocently

"It didn't look like talking." Jack said suggestively

"Didn't feel like dancing." Rose commented

"Can we stop with all the slang?" Gazelle grumbled as she flopped down on the bunk, "It's getting annoying."

The Doctor sat down next to her and they began to converse in their native language, with the Doctor informing Gazelle of his suspicions of what was causing the pandemic.

Rose decided to leave the Time Lords to it and went to talk to Jack. "So, you used to be a Time Agent, now ya trying to con them?" she quizzed

"If it makes me sound any better, it's not for the money." Jack replied, fiddling with the controls of his ship.

"For what?"

"Woke up one morning when I was working for them, found out they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like 'em back."

"They stole your memories?" Rose stared

"Two years of my life. No idea what I did. Your friends over there don't trust me. And for all I know... they're right not to." The computer bleeped. "Ok, we're good to go." Jack informed the Time Lords, "Crash site?" He spun round in his chair and piloted the ship to a spot near Limehouse Green station.

~8~

After landing, the quartet walked alongside the railway line to the crash site. "There is is." Jack said, pointing to the barbed wire, "They've got Algy on duty. Must be important." He gestured to a British Army Captain, who was pacing up and down on guard.

"We've gotta get past." the Doctor said

"Are the words 'distract the guard' heading in my general direction?" Rose said

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea." Jack told her

"Don't worry, I can handle it."

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town." Jack said, "Trust me, you're not his type. I'll distract him." He began to walk away. "Don't wait up." He took a short cut through a stabled locomotive's cab and headed off towards Algy.

Rose turned to the Time Lords, looking confused and a bit alarmed. "Relax, he's a 51st century guy." the Doctor smirked, "He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing."

"How flexible?" Rose frowned

"Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across the galaxy."

"Meaning?"

"So many species, so little time." the Doctor grinned

"What, that's what we do when we get out there?" Rose remarked, "That's our mission? We seek out new life, and... and..."

"Dance." the Doctor finished smugly

"And Flirt Boy over there would 'dance' with the kitchen sink if it moved." Gazelle sniggered

Jack approached Algy. "Hey, tiger!" he called, "How's it hanging?"

Algy turned to him with an inquisitive look. "Mummy?"

"Algy, old sport, it's me."

"Mummy?"

Jack's smile faded. "It's me, Jack."

"Jack?" Algy asked and cocked his head, observing Jack with a child-like curiosity. "Are you my mummy?" Then he coughed and fell to his knees.

Then, right before Jack's eyes, Algy's face transformed into a gas mask. The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose had seen everything, as had Algy's men, who hurried over.

"Stay back!" the Doctor warned as he and the women rushed over

"You men, stay away!" Jack warned Algy's men, who wisely complied.

The time travellers reached them and looked down at the transformed Algy, who was now lying on the floor. "The effect's becoming air-borne." the Doctor realised, "Accelerating."

"What's keeping us safe?" Rose asked

"The Doctor and me, the fact that we're not Human." Gazelle answered, "As for you two... nothing, unless we can stop this fast."

An air raid siren sounded in the distance. "Ah, here they come again." Jack groaned, looking up at the sky.

"All we need." Rose muttered, then suddenly remembered something. "Didn't you say a bomb was gonna land here?" she asked Jack, who nodded.

"Never mind about that." the Doctor said grimly, "If the contaminant's air borne now, there's hours left."

"For what?" Jack asked

"Till nothing." the Doctor replied ominously, "Forever. For the entire Human race. And can anyone else hear singing?"

They all listened and sure enough, they could hear a woman's voice singing Rock-a-by-baby. The Doctor pinpointed the source to a nearby shed. He looked inside to find Nancy handcuffed to a table, singing to a transformed soldier. The Doctor motioned for Nancy to keep singing, so she did so while he crept up and used his sonic screwdriver to unlock her handcuffs. The handcuffs snapped open, and Nancy was able to sidle away, leaving the soldier fast asleep.

The group went back to the bomb site and Jack and the Time Lords removed the tarpaulin to reveal the Chula med-ship. "You see? Just an ambulance." Jack said

"That's an ambulance?" Nancy asked incredulously

"It's hard to explain." Rose replied, putting a comforting arm around her, "It's... it's from another world."

Jack looked at the med-ship's controls. "They've been trying to get in." he noted

"Of course they have." the Doctor replied, "They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What you doing?" he asked as Jack began typing in a code on a keypad on the ship.

"Well, the sooner you see this thing's empty, the sooner you'll see I had nothing to do with it." Jack retorted. The keypad suddenly sparked, causing them all to jump back and an alarm sounded. "Didn't happen last time." Jack said sheepishly.

"It hadn't crashed last time." the Doctor retorted, "They're the emergency protocols."

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asked, seeing a flashing red light on the console, then she saw the doors to the shed that Nancy had been imprisoned in were now ratting. "Doctor!" she warned

"Captain, secure those gates!" the Doctor ordered

"Why?" Jack questioned

"Just do it!" the Doctor snapped, and Jack obeyed.

"Nancy, how did you get in here?" Gazelle asked

"I cut the wire." Nancy replied

"Right, show me." Gazelle ordered, and Nancy led her off to the spot she'd cut through while Jack slammed the site's gates shut and secured them with chains.

Nancy held the two ends of the barbed wire together while Gazelle used her sonic screwdriver to fuse them together again. "Who are ya?" Nancy asked, "Who're any of you?"

"You'd never believe me in a million years." the Time Lady replied

"Ya friend just told me that was an ambulance from another world." Nancy retorted, "There are people running around with gas mask heads calling for their mummies, and the sky's full of Germans dropping bombs on me. Tell me. D'ya think there's anything left I couldn't believe?"

Gazelle looked at her, getting the point. "The Doctor and I are aliens with two hearts and Rose is a time traveller from the future." she told Nancy

"Mad, you are."

"I'm being serious. That blue police box ya saw us with? That's our time machine"

"It's not that." Nancy said, "Alright, you and him are aliens and you've got a time machine. I believe ya. Believe anything, me. But what future?" She looked up at the sky, which was full of German bombers.

"Nancy, I know things seem bleak right now, but this isn't the end." Gazelle told her

"How can you say that?!" Nancy burst out, "Look at it!"

"Nancy, look at Rose." Gazelle encouraged, "She's from London. She'll be born here in 45 years' time."

"From here?"

"Yep, she's a Londoner, from your future."

"But... she's not German."

"Exactly." Gazelle smiled, "Germany will never invade Britain. And, don't tell anyone else, keep this just between you and me, but Germany will lose the war. And d'ya know who will win?"

"Who?"

"You do."

"Us?"

"Yep." Gazelle nodded, "Later this year, the Soviet Union will declare war on Germany and join Britain. Then, next year, the United States will follow suit. Together, the allied forces will turn the tide on Hitler, and in 1945, he will commit suicide and Germany will surrender, thus ending the war." Nancy felt better at this news and they soon finished repairing the wire, then they headed back to join the Doctor, Jack and Rose.

Jack finished typing in the code and opened the med-ship's hatch. "It's empty. Look at it." he said

"What d'yer expect in a Chula medical transporter? the Doctor asked sarcastically, "Bandages? Cough drops?" He turned to his companion. "Rose?"

"I dunno." the blonde shrugged

"Yes, you do." the Doctor encouraged, miming the nanogenes with his hands.

"Nanogenes!" Rose realised

"It wasn't empty, Captain." the Doctor told Jack, "There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

Jack went white as a sheet as realisation dawned on him. "Oh, god." he breathed in horror.

"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gas mask."

"And they brought him back to life?" Rose questioned, "They can do that?"

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter." the Doctor answered, "Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never a Human being before. Don't know what a Human being's supposed to look like."

"All they had to go on was one little boy." Gazelle chimed in, "And there wasn't much left of him to go on, but they tried. They did what they were programmed to do and restored him. They couldn't tell the difference between what was the gas mask and what was his skull, but they did their best."

"Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done." the Doctor took over, "Cos' yer see, now, they think they know what people should look like and it's time to fix the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire Human race is gonna be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for it's mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

Jack was shaking with horror at his mistake. "I didn't know." he breathed. The Doctor fixed him with a cold stare then turned to examine the med-ship in an attempt to see if there was anything that could be done to stop the nanogenes.

Suddenly, Nancy noticed something. "Gazelle?" she called

The Time Lady turned to see what Nancy had seen. "We've got company!" she warned, and the others turned to see the patients from the hospital walking along the lines towards them. They were still quite a distance away, but still too close for comfort.

Rose looked at the flashing red light on the med-ship. "It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?" she asked the Doctor

"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol." the Doctor told her

"But... the gas mask people aren't troops." Rose frowned

"They are now." the Doctor replied, "This is a battlefield ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix yer up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you."

"That's why the child's so strong." Gazelle added, "Why he can om-comn."

"He's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes." the Doctor finished, "All that weapons tech in the hands of an hysterical 4-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

The patients and transformed soldiers all halted their advance when they reached the fence. "Why don't they attack?" Jack wandered

"Good little soldiers, waiting for their commander." the Doctor replied

"The child?" Jack questioned

"Jaime." Nancy told him

"What?"

"Not 'the child', Jamie." Nancy said, causing the Time Lords to look at her, remembering what Dr Constantine had told them.

"So, how long till the bomb falls?" Rose asked

"Any second." Jack answered her

"What's the matter, Captain?" the Doctor snarled at him, "Bit too close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy." Nancy said sadly

"We know." Gazelle said, putting an arm on the Human's shoulder.

"He's just a little boy who wants 'is mummy."

"Yes, we know." the Time Lady soothed, "There isn't a child born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy."

"And this little boy can." the Doctor finished

"So what're we gonna do?" Rose asked

"I don't know." the Doctor replied gravely

Nancy welled up in tears. "It's my fault." she sobbed

"No, it isn't." Gazelle comforted her

"It is." Nancy wailed, "It's all my fault."

"How can it be..." Gazelle began, but tailed off and looked around at the patients, all calling out for their mummy, then turned back to Nancy as a sudden thought struck her. "Nancy, how old are you? 20? 21? You're older than ya look, right?"

A bomb landed nearby, causing Jack and Rose to flinch. "Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds." Jack urged, as another bomb landed nearby.

"You can teleport us out." Rose suggested

"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online." Jack told her, "Gonna take too long to override the protocols."

"So it's volcano day. Do what yer've gotta do." the Doctor told him, focussing on Gazelle and Nancy.

"Jack?" Rose glared at the American.

Jack looked at her apologetically. He made his decision and teleported himself out.

"How old were you five years ago?" Gazelle asked Nancy gently, "15? 16? Old enough to give birth at least." Nancy, still sobbing, glanced up at her and then down at the ground again, shame faced. "He's not your brother, is he?" Gazelle pressed, "He's your son."

"A teenage single mother in 1941." the Doctor agreed, "So yer hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

The gates burst open to reveal the patients, with Jamie standing at the forefront, ready to charge. "Are you my mummy?"

"He's always gonna be asking that, Nancy." Gazelle said, "He's never gonna stop. You need to tell him the truth."

Jaime and the patients began to walk forward.

"Nancy, the future of the Human race is in your hands." the Doctor said, "Trust us and tell him."

Nancy swallowed hard as Jaime approached. "Are you my mummy?"

Gazelle gave Nancy a gentle push in the direction of Jamie.

"Are you my mummy?" Jaime repeated

Nancy plucked up courage. "Yes. I am your mummy." she said

Jaime slowly walked forward. "Mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

Nancy kneeled down in front of him. "I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes." Nancy whispered

"He doesn't understand." the Doctor said sadly, "There's not enough of him left."

But Nancy wasn't about to give up. "I am your mummy." she said sincerely, "I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry." She took him into her arms, no longer caring about what could happen. Nanogenes surrounded them, bathing them in a golden glow. "I am so, so sorry." Nancy whispered to Jaime.

"What's happening?" Rose asked the Time Lords, "It's changing her, we should..."

"Shh!" the Doctor shushed her, and griped Gazelle's hand tightly as they watched the nanogenes enveloping Nancy and Jaime. "Come on, please!" the Doctor breathed, "Come on, you clever little nanogenes, figure it out!"

"She's the mother." Gazelle muttered under her breath, "Come on, there's gotta be enough information. You can figure it out."

"What's happening?" Rose asked

"See?" the Doctor pointed, "Recognising the same DNA."

Nancy fell back as the nanogenes disappeared, while Jaime stayed standing. Rose and the Time Lords hurried over to them. Rose helped Nancy up while the Time Lords stared down at Jaime, hardly daring to hope. "Oh, come on. Give us a day like this one. Give us this one." the Doctor pleaded to the heavens, then reached out to Jaime's gasmask... And removed it, revealing a perfectly normal 4-year-old boy underneath it.

"YES!" Gazelle cheered, punching her fists in the air, while the Doctor laughed ecstatically and pulled Jaime into his arms.

"A-ha-ha! Welcome back!" he grinned, "20 years to pop music. Yer gonna love it!"

"What happened?" Nancy asked in wonder

"The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA." the Doctor beamed, putting Jaime down. "They didn't change you because you changed them. Haha!"

"Mother always knows best!" Gazelle grinned, ruffling Jaime's hair.

"Jaime!" Nancy wept with happiness and embraced her son.

Another bomb landed nearby. "Doctor, that bomb..." Rose reminded

"Taken care of it." the Doctor replied nonchalantly

"How?"

"Psychology."

Then, they heard the whistling of a falling bomb, coming straight for them. Just as it was about to hit the med-ship, it was snatched in mid-air by a tractor beam from Jack's ship. A moment later, Jack appeared, sitting legs astride the bomb. "Doctor!" he called

"Good lad!" the Doctor called back

"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long."

"Change of plan, don't need the bomb." the Doctor replied, "Can yer get rid of it? Safely as you can?"

"Rose?" Jack called

"Yeah?" the blonde answered

"Goodbye." Jack said and disappeared, only to reappear a second later. "By the way, love the t-shirt." he grinned

Rose returned the grin, pulling down on her t-shirt embarrassedly. Jack and the bomb teleported away, and the ship flew off into the night.

The Doctor and Gazelle walked a few paced away, both looking down intently at their hands. Four swarms of nanogenes fluttered down around their hands. "What're you two doing?" Rose asked them

"Software patch." the Doctor replied, "We're gonna email the upgrade."

"Ya want moves, Rose? We'll give ya moves!" Gazelle added

The Time Lords flicked their hands, sending the nanogenes towards the patients, who were all still milling about on the railway lines. The nanogenes surrounded them and they all fell to the ground.

"Everybody lives, Rose." the Doctor beamed ecstatically, "Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!"

The patients all got to their feet, their faces all restored to normal Human faces. The Time Lords bounded over to them. "Dr Constantine." Gazelle said, "Who never left his patients. Fit as ever now, eh, doctor? The world doesn't wanna get by without ya just yet, and I can't blame it."

"These are yer patients." the Doctor said, gesturing to the people milling about in confusion, "All better now."

"Yes, yes... so it seems." a completely confused Dr Constantine replied, "They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?"

"Yeah, well, yer know, cutbacks." the Doctor laughed, "Listen, whatever was wrong with 'em in the past, yer probably gonna find that they're cured. Just tell 'em what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it, ok?" He and Gazelle cheerfully went back over to Rose.

An elderly woman approached Dr Constantine. "Dr Constantine?" she called

"Ah, Mrs Harcourt, how much better you're looking." Dr Constantine said

"My leg's grown back!" a bewildered Mrs Harcourt said, "When I come to the hospital, I had one leg!"

"Well, there is a war on. Is it possible you miscounted?" Dr Constantine shrugged

The Doctor climbed on top of the med-ship. "Right, you lot." he called, "Lots to do! Beat the Germans, save the world, don't forget the welfare state!"

The hospital staff regained their bearings and began to usher the patients away from the bomb site.

The Doctor pressed some buttons on the keypad and spoke to Gazelle and Rose, "Setting this to self-destruct as soon as everybody's clear. History says there's an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

"Usually the first in line." Rose smirked, and the trio all laughed.

~8~

The Time Lords were still in good spirits when they got back to the TARDIS. "The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves of, cos' I told 'em to." the Doctor chattered happily, walking up to the console. "Nancy and Jaime will go to Dr Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

Rose smiled at his enthusiasm. "Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas!"

"Who says I'm not?" the Doctor retorted, "Red bicycle when you were 12."

"What?!" Rose stared

"He's pulling ya leg, Rose." Gazelle snorted, and joined the Doctor at the console. "And everybody lives. Just for once, everybody lives for a change! Oh, I wish we could have more days like this." she beamed happily, then she and the Doctor began to set the controls ready to get underway.

"Doctor..." Rose began cautiously

"Go on, ask us anything." the Doctor replied cheerfully, "We're on fire!"

"What about Jack?" Rose asked seriously

Both Time Lords' smiles faded, and they carried on working, neither of them wanting to answer that question.

"Why'd he say goodbye?" Rose pressed.

~8~

Jack's ship soared through space. "Ok, computer, how long can we keep the bomb in stasis?" Jack asked

"Stasis decaying at 90% cycle." the computer replied, "Detonation in three minutes."

"Can we jettison it?"

"Any attempt to jettison will precipitate detonation. 100% probability."

"We could stick it in an escape pod." Jack tried

"There is no escape pod on board."

"Ok, see the flaw in that. I'll get in the escape pod!"

"There is no escape pod on board."

"Did ya check everywhere?" Jack asked, his voice rising.

"Affirmative."

"Under the sink?!" Jack yelled

"Affirmative."

"Ok." Jack nodded, beginning to acknowledge the situation. "Out of one hundred, exactly how dead am I?"

"Termination of Captain Jack Harkness in under two minutes. 100% probability."

"Lovely. Thanks." Jack sighed in defeat, "Good to know the numbers."

"You're welcome."

"Ok then. Think we'd better initiate emergency protocol 4-1-7."

"Affirmative."

A martini glass appeared on the dashboard. Jack took it and had a sip. "Ooh, a little too much vermouth. See if I come here again!" he joked, "Funny thing... last time I was sentenced to death, I ordered four hyper-vodkas for my breakfast. All a bit of a blur after that. Woke up in bed with both my executioners. Hmm, lovely couple. They stayed in touch." He pondered this. "Can't say that about most executioners." He laughed again. "Anyway, thanks for everything, computer. It's been great."

Suddenly, Moonlight Serenade began to play. "Oi, Flirt Boy, hurry up if you wanna live!" Gazelle's voice called, and Jack spun round to see that the TARDIS had appeared inside the ship. Jack leapt to his feet and scrambled inside.

The Doctor and Rose were dancing a rather awkward attempt at a waltz. "Right, and turn..." Rose instructed. The Doctor complied, getting Rose's arm twisted. "Ok, ok, try and spin me again, but this time, don't get my arm up my back! No extra points for a half-nelson."

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff." the Doctor muttered, moving back to the console. "Close the door, will yer?" he ordered Jack, who was looking around the room in awe. "Your ship's about to blow up, there's gonna be a draft."

"Well, give him a chance to get in first." Gazelle remarked, shutting the doors herself, then the Doctor got the TARDIS into motion. "Welcome to the TARDIS." Gazelle said to Jack

"Much bigger on the inside." Jack commented

"You'd better be." the Doctor retorted

"I think what the Doctor's trying to say is... you may cut in." Rose said to Jack, holding out her hand to him, ready for the next dance.

"I've just remembered!" the Doctor said suddenly

"What?" Rose asked

In the Mood began to blare out of the speakers and the Doctor moved in time to the music, snapping his fingers. "I can dance!" he grinned

"Actually, Doctor... I thought Jack might like this dance." Rose said

"I'm sure he would, Rose, I'm absolutely sure." the Doctor replied, "Which is why..." He held a hand to Gazelle. "I'm asking this royal beauty."

Jack and Rose both sniggered, while Gazelle blushed and took the Doctor's hand. He pulled her closer to him and he spun her perfectly. Jack and Rose watched the Time Lords danced around the console room, perfect partners.

"So, what's the story with those two?" Jack asked Rose quietly, "They together?"

"They say they're just friends." Rose told him, "But I know better. There's something more than that between 'em, but neither of 'em will admit it."

"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" Jack winked, then they turned to watch the dancing Time Lords.

The Doctor suddenly threw Gazelle backwards over his arm, earning a whoop of delight from the brunette. She pulled herself up and sagged onto the Doctor's shoulder, giggling happily.

Chapter Text

In Cardiff town hall, Mr Cleaver, the Welsh Assembly's nuclear safety advisor, was pacing anxiously in the Lord Mayor's office. " I've checked the figures. I've checked them again and again. Always the same result. The design is not safe. It could result in the death of millions. I beg of you... stop the project right now, before it's too late." he urged the mayor, Margaret Blaine. Little did he know that Margaret was actually the last surviving member of the Slitheen family; the family of Raxicoricofallapatorians who had tried to destroy the Earth for profit just six months ago.

"Well. Goodness me. Obviously, Mr Cleaver, you're the expert." Margaret replied.

"Then... you'll stop it?" Mr Cleaver asked.

"Seems I have no choice." Margaret replied, then her stomach rumbled noisily. "Oh... do excuse me." she smiled apologetically. "Civic duties leave little time for a sandwich."

"But you promise you'll stop it today?" Mr Cleaver asked urgently.

"Well of course. Nothing is more important than human life..." Margaret's face hardened as Mr Cleaver looked at her, concerned, then she forced her face to lighten. "What d'you take me for? Some sort of maniac?"

"Why, no." Mr Cleaver replied.

"Am I right in thinking you've shown your results only to me?" Margaret asked.

"Just to you. No one else."

"Wise move." Margaret smiled deviously.

A relieved Mr Cleaver took off his glasses and wiped his fatigued eyes. "I can't tell you Mrs Blaine, this is such a weight off my mind." he said. "I've barely slept. I couldn't believe my own readings." He wiped his glasses with his back turned to Margaret, so he didn't see her raise her hand to her forehead. "The scale of it... destruction like the British Isles has never seen before." He squinted at a model of a nuclear power station in the outer room, blissfully unaware of a blue light flashing behind him. "If I didn't know better, I'd almost think that someone wanted this project to go wrong. As though they intended to wipe this city off the map." He slipped his glasses back on. "Thank goodness we've got you, our esteemed leader."

He turned around to see Margaret standing right behind him in her true Raxicoricofallapatorian form. She gave a roar and grabbed his neck with her huge claw. Mr Cleaver screamed in terror as he lifted off the floor by the massive green alien.

~8~

A First Great Western High Speed Train screamed into Cardiff Central station, completing it's long journey from London Paddington. Once the train had stopped, it's passengers began disembarking. Amongst them was Mickey Smith. He took a moment to glance at the bi-lingual signs, then left the station.

Presently, Mickey arrived at the Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff Bay, where he could see the TARDIS standing rather incongruously in front of the water fountain by the Millennium Centre. He went up to the box knocked on the door. To his surprise, it wasn't the Doctor, Gazelle or Rose who answered, but a dark-haired American man. "Who the hell are you?" the American asked rudely.

"What d'ya mean, 'Who the hell am I'? Who the hell are you?" Mickey shot back

"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever ya selling, we're not buying."

"Get out my way!" Mickey grunted, and shoved past Jack into the TARDIS.

"Don't tell me, that must be Mickey." Jack said dryly, shutting the door.

The TARDIS apparently seemed to be undergoing maintenance, with the Doctor currently standing on the overhead gantry doing some repair work, while Rose was standing by the console. Mickey couldn't see Gazelle, but he did see her jacket slung over a railing near an open floor grille, so he figured she was working underneath the floor. "Here comes trouble." the Doctor said cheerily. "How yer doing, Ricky boy?"

"It's Mickey." the Human huffed.

"Don't listen to him, he's winding you up." Rose told Mickey.

"You look fantastic." Mickey smiled at her, and they gave each other a big hug.

"Aww, sweet, look at those two." Jack remarked to the Doctor. "How come I never get any of that?"

"Buy me a drink first." the Doctor retorted.

"You're such hard work."

"But worth it." the Doctor grinned in a self-satisfied way.

"Did ya manage to find it?" Rose asked Mickey.

"There ya go." Mickey answered, handing Rose a passport.

"I can go anywhere now." Rose grinned at the Doctor, brandishing the passport.

"I told yer, you don't need a passport." the Doctor replied.

"It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if I end up in Brazil?" Rose retorted.

"She's got ya there." Gazelle remarked from under the floor.

"See, she gets it." Rose told the Doctor. "I might need it. Ya see, I'm prepared for anything." And she stuck her tongue out at the Doctor.

"Sounds like you're staying then." Mickey said glumly. An awkward silence followed. "So, what're you doing in Cardiff?" Mickey asked, changing the subject. "And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash?" He eyed Jack with disdain. "I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with Big Ears up there..."

"Oi!" the Doctor huffed indignantly.

"Look in the mirror." Mickey waved him off.
The Doctor shook his head and went back to work.
"But this guy, I dunno." Mickey continued. "He's kinda..."

"Handsome?" Jack smirked.

"More like cheesy." Mickey sneered.

"Early 21st century slang." Jack noted. "Is cheesy good or bad?"

"It's bad."

"But bad means good, is that right?" Jack asked Gazelle.

"Search me." she replied. "I don't get half these Human slang terms myself."

"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" the Doctor pouted, tottering down the ladder.

"Oh, I think you're handsome." Gazelle said quietly, though it wasn't quite quiet enough as both the Doctor and Jack heard her, causing the Doctor to turn his head in the Time Lady's direction and Jack to smirk to himself. Ever since 1941, Jack and Rose had been conspiring to get the Time Lords together and although so far they hadn't succeeded, every now and then, either the Doctor or Gazelle would let slip a comment that hinted at their true feelings for one another.

"We just stopped off to refuel." Rose explained to Mickey. "The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions..."

"The rift was healed back in 1869." the Doctor added.

"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth." Rose continued. "'Cos these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it."

"But closing a rift always leaves a scar," Jack took over, he, Rose and the Doctor completely oblivious to the fact that Mickey was looking at them like he had no idea what they were talking about out, "and that scar generates energy, harmless to the Human race."

"But perfect for the TARDIS," the Doctor took over, "so just park her here for a couple of days right on top of the scar..."

"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation..." Jack added.

"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!" Rose cheered.

"Into time!" Jack crowed, high-fiving Rose.

"And space!" the Doctor, Jack and Rose finished together, all high-fiving each other.

Mickey could only stare at the trio in disbelief. "My God, have you seen yourselves?" he asked rhetorically. "You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Yeah!" the Doctor said smugly.

"Yeah!" Rose smirked cockily.

"Yep!" Jack finished, giving Mickey a friendly slap on the cheek.

"Well, ya not." Gazelle called up, finishing her work under the floor. "You all just sound like annoying know-it-alls when ya do that."

The Doctor turned around to retort, but lost his words as he watched Gazelle climb out of the hole. As she wasn't wearing her jacket, he suddenly seemed to notice just how figure-flattering her tank top and tight jeans were.

Oblivious to the Doctor's gaze on her, Gazelle replaced the floor grating, slipped her jacket back on and let her hair down from the bun she'd pulled it into while working. "Right, that finishes that." she said, then noticed the Doctor watching her. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing." the Doctor said quickly, and averted his gaze.

Deciding not to push the issue, Gazelle crossed over to Mickey. "Ah, good to see ya again, Mickey." she greeted. "How's life treating you?"

"Alright, thanks." Mickey replied, happy that someone had the decency to ask.

"Now that we're all here, how about we all do lunch?" Gazelle suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Rose grinned, and the men nodded their agreement.

The quintet duly stepped outside the TARDIS. "Should take another 24 hours." the Doctor said as he locked the doors. "Which means we've got time to kill."

"That old lady's staring." Mickey said, looking around shiftily.

"Probably wandering what five people can do inside a wooden box." Jack remarked.

"What are you captain of? The innuendo squad?" Mickey huffed.

Jack just made a 'whatever' sign and walked off.

"Wait! Er, the TARDIS, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, what's with the police box?" Jack asked, seeing that Mickey had a point. "Why's she look like that?"

"It's a cloaking device." Rose answered complacently.

"It's called a chameleon circuit." the Doctor explained. "The TARDIS is meant to disguise herself wherever she lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, she'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960's, she disguised herself as a phone box, and the circuit got stuck."

"So it copied a real thing?" Mickey asked. "There actually were police boxes?"

"Yeah, on street corners." the Doctor replied. "Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested somebody, they could shove 'em inside until help came. Like a little prison cell."

"Why don't ya just fix the circuit?" Jack asked.

"He did try to once." Gazelle told him. "It still didn't work right from what I've heard. I had a look at the circuit when I started travelling with him and we can't fix it properly without replacing it completely, and with our home planet gone, TARDIS spares aren't exactly plentiful these days, so we've just had to leave it as it is."

"Besides, I like it." the Doctor grinned. "Don't you?"

"I love it!" Rose said, patting the TARDIS' woodwork for emphasis.

"Me too." Gazelle said. "The police box grows on ya after a while."

"But that's what I meant." Mickey pointed out. "There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"

"The TARDIS has a perception filter, Mickey." Gazelle told him. "People see her in the corner of their eye and they just ignore her."

"But I can still it!"

"That's because you want to see her, Ricky." the Doctor told him. "Now stop yer nagging. Let's go and explore." He linked hands with Gazelle and they walked off, the others following them.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked.

"Lunch, then whatever anyone wants." Gazelle replied.

"Should make a nice rest stop." the Doctor agreed. "Cardiff, early 21st century. Trust me, safest place in the universe."

"Famous last words." Gazelle chuckled.

~8~

Margaret was hosting a press conference at the town hall, highlighting her plan. "This nuclear power station right in the heart of Cardiff City will bring jobs for all!" she announced, then stepped down from the podium and headed towards the power station model on display in the centre of the room. "As you can see, as Lord Mayor, I've had to sanction some radical redevelopments..." A camera flashed and Margaret immediately threw her hand over her face. "No photographs! What did I say?!" she spluttered. "Take pictures of the project by all means, but not me, thank you. " She then addressed the room at large, "So, Cardiff Castle will be demolished allowing the Blaidd Drwg Project to rise up, tall and proud. A monument to Welsh industry. And yes, some of you might shiver. The words 'nuclear power station' and 'major population centre' aren't exactly the happiest of bedfellows. But I give you my personal guarantee that as long as I walk upon this earth, no harm will come to any of my citizens. Now drink up. A toast, to the future!"

She raised her glass and the press followed suit. "To the future!" they toasted.

"And believe me... it will glow." Margaret said with a malicious glint in her eye which no one noticed.

After a smattering of polite applause, the guests began to mingle. A young journalist approached Margaret "Excuse me, Mrs Blaine?" she called. "My name's Cathy Salt, I represent the Cardiff Gazette."

"I'm sorry, I'm not doing interviews." Margaret waved her off. "I can't bear self-publicity."

"But are you aware of the curse?" Cathy pressed.

Margaret fixed her with a fake smile. "Whatever do you mean? Cathy, wasn't it?"

"Cathy Salt. That's what some of your engineers are saying. That the Blaidd Drwg project is cursed."

"Sounds rather silly to me." Margaret scoffed.

"That's what I thought." Cathy said. "I was just chasing a bit of local colour. But the funny thing is, when you start piecing it all together, it does begin to look a bit odd."

"In what way?" Margaret asked coldly.

"The deaths." Cathy answered. "The number of deaths associated with this project. First of all, there was the entire team of the European safety inspectors."

"But they were French. It's hardly my fault if 'danger: explosives' is only written in Welsh." Margaret waved her off, but Cathy persisted.

"And then there was that accident with the Cardiff Heritage Committee."

"The electrocution of that swimming pool was put down to natural wear and tear."

"And then, the architect?"

"It was raining. Visibility was low, my car simply couldn't stop."

"And then, just recently, Mr Cleaver, the government's nuclear advisor."

"Slipped on an icy patch."

"He was decapitated."

"It was a very icy patch." Margaret grunted. "I'm afraid these stories are nothing more than typical small town thinking. I really haven't got time. Now if you'll excuse me..."

She made to go, but Cathy still persisted and hurried in front of Margaret to block her way. "Except, before he died, Mr Cleaver posted some of his findings online."

That got Margaret's interest. "Did he now?" she frowned.

"If you know where to look." Cathy said. "He was concerned about the reactor."

"Oh, all that technical stuff." Margaret attempted to laugh the matter off.

"Specifically, that the design of the suppression pool would cause the hydrogen recombiners to fail, precipitating in the collapse in the containment isolation system resulting in a meltdown."

"Who's being doing her homework?" Margaret remarked dryly.

"That's my job." Cathy said simply.

"I think, Cathy Salt... I think you and I should have a word in private." Margaret said grimly, and practically dragged Cathy out of the doors and along the corridor, still with a deadly sweet smile on her face. As they walked, Margaret's stomach rumbled loudly. "Ooh! My little tum is complaining. I think we might have to make a detour to the ladies."

"I'll wait here." Cathy offered.

"Oh, come on." Margaret said, grabbing Cathy's hand and pulling her along. "All girls together!" And she pulled Cathy into the ladies' cloakroom. "So, you were saying, these outlandish theories of yours?" She hurried into the toilet cubicle and shut the door, leaving Cathy to wait outside. A wet breaking wind noise came from inside the loo.

"Sounds like we got here just in time." Cathy commented.

"Continue."

"Well, I don't know much about nuclear physics," Cathy admitted "but from what I could make out, Cleaver was saying that the whole project could go up..."

Inside the cubicle, Margaret began to unzip her forehead with an evil smile on her face.

"... worse than Chernobyl." Cathy continued, then noticed the flickering blue light from under the door. "Is there something wrong with the lights?"

"Oh, they're always on the blink." Margaret waved her off. "I can't tell you how many memos I've sent. So, Chernobyl?"

"Apparently. But a thousand times worse." Cathy replied.

Margaret began to shed her skin-suit.

"I know it sounds absurd, there must be so many safety regulations," Cathy continued, blissfully unaware of this, "but Mr Cleaver seemed to be talking about a nuclear holocaust. He almost made it sound deliberate. I mean, we're hardly the Sunday Times, it's the only the Cardiff Gazette, but we have a duty to report the facts."

Margaret had now fully unmasked. "And you're going to print this information?" she rasped.

"Are you alright?" Cathy asked, noticing that Margaret sounded different. "You sound a bit..."

"Sore throat." Margaret answered, and did an affected cough. "Just a little tickle. But tell me, do you intend to make this information public?"

"I have to."

"So be it." Margaret said menacingly, raising her claw ready to strike.

"Mind you, my boyfriend thinks I'm mad." Cathy said, walking to the sink.

Margaret lowered her claw, listening.

"We're getting married next month." Cathy continued, checking her reflection. "And he says if I cause a fuss, I could loose my job. Just when we need the money..."

"Boyfriend?" Margaret questioned.

"Jeffery, civil servant. He's nothing exciting, but he's mine."

"When's the wedding?"

"The 19th. It's really just to stop my mother from nagging, but the baby sort of clinched it, I suppose."

Margaret slowly sat down on the loo. "You're with... child?"

"Three months. It's not showing yet. Wasn't planned. It was an accident. Nice accident, though."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you. How about you? You got any kids?"

"No."

"Is there a Mr Blaine?"

"Not anymore." Margaret answered, her voice trembling. "I'm all on my own. I had quite a sizeable family, once upon a time, wonderful brothers. Oh, they were so bold. But all of them gone now. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm cursed."

"No, no... I don't think so." Cathy counselled. "Not really."

"You're very kind. If you don't mind, I might be a while. You run along. Perhaps we could do this another day."

"Are you alright?"

"Fine!"

"Ok, I'll tell you what, uh, I'll leave my details with your office. Thanks for talking."

"Thank you." Margaret said sadly.

Cathy left the cloakroom. When the Human was gone, Margaret gave a quiet moan of sorrow, lowering her head and closing her eyes with misery.

~8~

Mickey and the TARDIS crew were sat around a table in a bay-side restaurant, with Jack regaling everyone with a tale of one of his past misadventures. "I swear, six feet tall and with tusks..."

"You're lying through yer teeth." the Doctor shook his head.

"I'd have gone bonkers!" Rose sniggered. "That's the word, bonkers!"

"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks!" Jack continued. "And it's woken, and it's not happy!"

"How could ya not see it in the first place?" Gazelle asked. "Those things are pretty hard to miss!"

"And we're standing there, 15 of us, naked..." Jack continued.

"Naked?!" Rose gasped.

"And I'm like, 'Oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me!' And then it roars, and we are running. Oh, my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say..."

"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey cut in with the punch line, sending everyone roaring with laughter.

"That's my line!"

"I don't believe you!" Rose guffawed, "I don't believe a word you say ever, that is so brilliant!"

The Doctor glanced over at a newspaper being read by a man sitting at a nearby table. His smile instantly fell at the paper's headline and he got up to have a closer look.

"Did you ever get your clothes back?" Rose asked Jack.

"No, I just picked him up and went right for the ship." Jack replied. "Full throttle, didn't stop until I hit the space-lanes. I was shaking! It was unbelievable, I was freaking out and by the time I got there, I was 15 light-years away, I was like this..."

"Trouble?" Gazelle asked the Doctor suddenly, noticing him looking at the front page of the newspaper with a troubled expression.

"And I was having such a nice day." he sighed, and showed the others the paper. The headline was 'New Mayor, new Cardiff', complete with a photo of Margaret as she objected to the photographer taking her picture.

"I knew you'd jinxed us." Gazelle groaned.

"How can she be here?" Rose questioned. "I thought they were all dead."

"Obviously she survived." the Doctor replied grimly.

~8~

The quintet were soon arriving at Cardiff town hall, having briefed Jack on the incident in Downing Street. They marched purposefully up the steps and entered the hall's foyer then stopped to survey their surroundings. "According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxicoricofallapatorius, masquerading as a Human being, zipped inside a skinsuit." Jack fired off. "Ok, plan of attack, we assume a basic 57/56 strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, Gazelle, you two go face-to-face, that'll designate exit one. I'll cover exit two. Rose, you're exit three. Mickey Smith, you take exit four. Have you got that?"

While Jack had been rattling all of that off, the Doctor had been looking at him with mild annoyance at his impertinence. "Excuse me. Who's in charge?" he asked sternly.

"Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir." Jack huffed.

"Right," the Doctor began in an authoritive voice, "Here's the plan." He turned to the others with a cheeky smile. "Like he said, nice plan."

Gazelle rolled her eyes at him. "Anything else?" she asked Jack.

"Present arms." Jack said, pulling out a mobile phone.

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey all produced mobile phones of their own. "Ready." they all said.

"Speed dial?" Jack checked.

"Yup." the Doctor acknowledged.

"Ready." Rose said.

"Check." Mickey finished.

"See ya in hell." Jack smirked, and walked off to the right.

Rose and the Time Lords headed off to different exits straight ahead, while Mickey hesitated for a few moments before ambling off to the left.

~8~

The Doctor strode over to the secretary outside the mayor's office. "Hello! We've come to see the Lord Mayor." the Doctor said.

"Have you got an appointment?" the secretary asked.

"I'm afraid not. We're just old friends passing by." Gazelle said. "We thought we'd pop in and surprise her while we're in town."

"Can't wait to see her face." the Doctor grinned.

"Well, she's just having a cup of tea." the secretary tried to fob them off.

"Just go in there, and tell her the Doctor would like to see her." the Doctor told him bluntly.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor."

"And what about you?" the secretary asked Gazelle.

"Ah, she'll recognise me when she sees me." the Time Lady brushed him off.

The secretary stood up resignedly. "Hold on a tick." he muttered, and entered the office.

The Doctor and Gazelle calmly waited, barely raising their brows when they heard the sound of a cup smashing.

The secretary reappeared, looking slightly flustered and opening the door as little as possible before squeezing before it and shutting it behind him. "The Lord Mayor says thank you f-for stopping by..." he began. "She'd love to have a chat, but, um... she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?"

"She's climbing out the window, isn't she?" the Doctor asked knowingly.

"Yes, she is." the secretary said awkwardly.

The Time Lords promptly pushed past him and rushed into the office. They dashed across the room to the open window and hurried out onto the balcony. They were just in time to see Margaret hurrying along to some scaffolding. "Slitheen heading north." the Doctor said into his phone.

"On my way." Rose acknowledged.

"Over and out." Jack added.

The Time Lords were about to go in pursuit of Margaret when the secretary rushed out onto the balcony and started grappling with the Doctor. "Leave the mayor alone!" he fussed.

While this was going on, Margaret reached the scaffolding and climbed down the ladder to the ground.

~8~

Rose rushed down a corridor and pushed past two secretaries, sending paperwork flying.

~8~

A tea lady yelped as Jack performed a running jump over her trolley and disappeared down the corridor.

~8~

Mickey ran down a corridor and promptly collided with a cleaning trolley, sending it's contents everywhere.

~8~

Gazelle put her hands on the secretary's temples and his eyes rolled into his head and he fell unconscious to the floor. "Sorry about that," Gazelle said to his prone form, "but we don't have time for this." And with that, she and the Doctor hurried along the balcony.

Margaret meanwhile had reached the bottom of the ladder and she removed her brooch as she ran towards a side alley, ready to make her escape. When she reached the alley, she saw Rose running towards her, blocking her way. Margaret growled angrily and pulled off an earring, then she turned to see Jack running towards her. Her eyes widened with shock and she ran back the way she'd came.

The Doctor began to climb down the ladder, while Gazelle athletically jumped from the balcony and landed on her feet. "Oi, Margaret!" she called as she joined the chase.

Margaret belted down the remaining side alley, pulling off her second earring. The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Jack all converged at the end of the alley. "Who was on exit four?" Jack asked.

"Mickey was." Gazelle answered.

At that moment, Mickey burst out of a side door with a mop bucket stuck to his foot and a roll of paper towels trailing behind him. "Here I am." he wheezed.

"Mickey the idiot." the Doctor grunted.

"Oh, be fair, she's not exactly gonna outrun us, is she?" Rose defended. No sooner had she said that, then Margaret clipped her jewellery together to form a control pad. She pressed it and vanished in a blue light.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating!" Jack groaned. "Now we're never gonna get her!"

"Oh, don't worry. They're good at teleports." Rose replied as the Time Lords calmly stepped forward with their sonic screwdrivers in hand.

"Ladies first." the Doctor said to Gazelle, who switched her sonic screwdriver on.

Margaret reappeared, running straight towards them with a self-satisfied grin on her face which promptly disappeared when she saw where she was. She ground to a halt and hurriedly changed direction, activating her teleport and disappearing again. The Doctor switched his sonic screwdriver on and Margaret reappeared, much closer to them this time. She turned and teleported away again, but Gazelle used her sonic screwdriver to bring her back. Margaret then made a fourth attempt to get away, but once again the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to bring her back. This time, Margaret reappeared right in front of the quintet, absolutely exhausted and gasping for breath.

"We could do this all day." Gazelle said cheerfully, waggling her sonic screwdriver in front of the Slitheen's face.

"This is persecution." Margaret wheezed. "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to kill us and destroy this entire planet." the Doctor answered bluntly.

"Apart from that?" Margaret said dismissively.

~8~

The group had soon taken Margaret back into the town hall and into the presentation room. "So, yer a Slitheen, yer on Earth, yer trapped." the Doctor rattled off. "Your family get killed but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What d'yer do? Yer build a nuclear power station." He gestured to the model. "But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture." Margaret replied. "I've learned the error of my ways."

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift." Gazelle retorted, not buying it one bit.

"What rift would that be?" Margaret asked innocently.

"A rift in space in time." Jack replied, not believing Margaret's lies either. "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go schwwwupboom!"

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity." the Doctor noted.

"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked. "Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

"We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care!" Margaret scoffed. "The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice... Oh... I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that?" Mickey frowned. "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"She's got a name, you know." Margaret said indignantly.

"She's not even a she, she's a... thing." Mickey retorted.

"But she's clever." Gazelle said. "Look at this." She prised off the base of the model and turned it around to reveal a giant circuit board printed on it.

"Fantastic." the Doctor breathed, recognising the device.

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asked excitedly, also recognising it.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." the Doctor confirmed.

"Ooh, genius." Jack said, taking the extrapolator from Gazelle for a better look.

The Doctor's attention was suddenly caught by the banners on the far wall. He went over to look at them closely.

"You didn't build this." Jack said to Margaret.

"I have my hobbies." she waved him off. "A little tinkering."

"No, no, no, I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you."

"I bet she stole it." Mickey accused.

"It fell into my hands." Margaret retorted.

"Is it a weapon?" Rose asked Gazelle, but she'd gone over to see what the Doctor was looking at, so Jack answered instead.

"It's a weapon." he explained, putting the extrapolator on the floor. "Ya see, the reactor blows, the rift opens, phenomenal cosmic disaster, but this thing surrounds in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, zzhum, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard." Mickey realised.

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah." Jack confirmed.

"And it would've worked." Margaret said bitterly. "I would've surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation."

"You'd blow up an entire planet just to get a lift?" Mickey asked incredulously.

"Like stepping on an anthill." Margaret retorted.

"How'd yer think of the name?" the Doctor spoke up, attracting the others' attention.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh." Margaret replied.

"We know, but how'd ya think of it?" Gazelle asked.

"Chose it at random, that's all." Margaret shrugged. "Just sounded good. Does it matter?"

The Time Lords turned around with serious expressions on their faces. "Blaidd Drwg." the Doctor murmured thoughtfully.

"What's it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf." Gazelle replied.

"But I've heard that before, Bad Wolf." Rose realised. "I've heard that lots of times..."

"Yeah, us too." Gazelle agreed.

"Everywhere we go. Two words. Following us. Bad Wolf." the Doctor murmured

"How can they be following us?" Rose asked, feeling haunted.

The Time Lords looked at each other for a moment, then...

"Nah, just a coincidence." the Doctor said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Like hearing a word on the radio and then hearing it all day." Gazelle agreed, though neither she nor the Doctor were convinced of this at all, but they knew they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Never mind. Things to do." The Doctor clapped his hands briskly. "Margaret, we're gonna take you home."

"Isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Jack asked.

"I don't believe it!" Rose said gleefully. "We actually get to go to Raxa... Wait a minute. Raxacor..."

"Raxicoricofallapatorious." the Doctor told her quickly.

"Raxacorico..." Rose began.

"...fallapatorious." Gazelle finished for her.

"Raxacoricofallapatorious!" Rose screeched in delight.

"You got it." Gazelle gave her a thumbs up.

"I did it!" Rose squeaked happily.

"They have the death penalty." Margaret said seriously, wiping the smiles off everyone's faces. "The family Slitheen was tried in it's absence many years ago and found guilty. With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor?" She held the Time Lord's cold stare. "Take me home and you take me to my death."

"Not my problem." the Doctor told her indifferently.

~8~

That evening, the group were all gathered in the TARDIS. "This ship is impossible!" Margaret said in wonder. "It's superb! How'd you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret, yeah." the Doctor retorted.

"I almost feel better about being defeated." Margaret continued. "I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

"You wouldn't wanna worship us." Gazelle remarked from where she and Jack were tinkering with the extrapolator on the floor next to the console. "We'd make terrible gods."

"Yeah. Yer wouldn't get a day off for starters." the Doctor agreed. "Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range." Jack replied, then peered round at Margaret. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?" Margaret shrugged indifferently.

"Must've been a great big heist." Jack remarked. "It's stacked with power."

"But we can use it for fuel?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, it should knock about 12 hours off." Gazelle told him. "We should be able leave by the morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight." the Doctor stated.

"I'm in no hurry." Margaret grunted.

"We've got a prisoner!" Rose said excitedly. "The police box is really... a police box."

"You're not just police, though." Margaret scorned. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it." Mickey said coldly.

"You're very quick to say so." Margaret rounded on him, "You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me how exactly?" Mickey had no answer. "Long night." Margaret smirked, and sat down on the jump seat. "Let's see who can look me in the eye."

She fixed Mickey with a calm, collected gaze. He managed to hold it for a few seconds before averting his eyes uncomfortably. Margaret looked at Rose next, who glanced guiltily at the Doctor, who glanced up only briefly as he was busy working at the console, but still very aware of the atmosphere. Gazelle and Jack were too busy working on the extrapolator to look at Margaret.

~8~

Presently, Mickey was standing outside the TARDIS and staring at the water fountain when Rose joined him. "S'freezing out here." she commented, regretting her decision to wear a mini-skirt today.

"Better than in there." Mickey said, nodding towards the TARDIS. "She does deserve it. She's a Slitheen. I don't care. It's... it's just... weird in that box."

"I didn't really need my passport." Rose admitted, grinning tentatively.

Mickey realised that Rose wanted to see him, so he smiled, pleased at that. "I've been thinking, you know..." he began, "we could go and have a drink. Have a pizza or something. Just you and me."

"That'd be nice." Rose nodded.

"And, I mean, if the TARDIS can't leave till morning, we could... go to a hotel?" Mickey continued, looking slightly bashful. "Spend the night? I mean, if you want to. I've got some money."

"Ok, yeah." Rose smiled

"Is that alright?"

"Yeah!"

"Cool." a very pleased Mickey said. "There's a couple of bars round here, we should give 'em a go. Do ya have to go and tell them?" he asked, indicating the TARDIS.

"S'none of the Doctor's business and Gazelle's been telling me to spend more time with you, so she'll be alright with it." Rose replied.

~8~

Inside the TARDIS, Gazelle watched on the monitor as Rose and Mickey walked away hand-in-hand. She was glad that Rose was taking her advice and spending more time with her supposed boyfriend. The Time Lady quite liked Mickey and felt that Rose wasn't treating him with the respect that he deserved.

"So, what's on?" Jack asked, joining her by the monitor.

"Nothing that's any of our business." Gazelle replied, turning the monitor off.

Margaret meanwhile was sitting on the floor with her back to the console. "I gather it's not always like this... having to wait. " she spoke up. "I bet you two are the always the first to leave, Doctor, Gazelle. Never mind the consequences, off you both go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last, you have consequences... how does it feel?"

"We didn't butcher them." the Doctor replied. He hadn't wanted to kill the Slitheen, but they had left him with no choice.

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants." Jack advised.

"We know. She's just trying to guilt us into letting us go." Gazelle said, then turned to Margaret. "But it won't work, so ya might as well give up now. And on the subject of your family, you had an emergency teleport, but you didn't take 'em with ya, did you?"

"It only carries one." Margaret replied. "I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs."
The three time travellers sniggered.
"It wasn't funny!" Margaret said sharply, turning to them.

"Sorry." the Doctor said sheepishly, but neither he, Gazelle or Jack could stifle their laughter for long. "It is a bif funny!" And all three burst out laughing.

Margaret joined in this time. "Do I get a last request?" she asked lightly.

The Doctor stopped laughing. "Depends what it is."

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals... the brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things... there's a little restaurant. Just round the bay."

The Doctor walked over to her. "Is that what yer want, a last meal?" he asked, leaning on the railings.

"Don't I have rights?" Margaret asked defiantly.

"Oh, like she's not gonna try to escape." Jack scoffed.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" Margaret shot back bitterly, then considered the Doctor. "But I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough." the Doctor replied.

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies... now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind." the Doctor said defiantly.

"Prove it." Margaret challenged.

"There are people out there." the Doctor countered. "If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

"Except... I've got these." Jack said, holding up a pair of metal bracelets. "You both wear one. If she moves... more than ten feet away..." he made a loud buzzing noise, mimicking an electric shock. "She gets zapped by 10,0000 volts."

The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen. "Margaret, would yer like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage... works for me." Margaret said with a sickly smile.

"You'd better go with 'em, Gaz." Jack said to Gazelle. "I can handle things here."

"Yeah, suppose I'd better." Gazelle said. She didn't trust Margaret at all, and was sure the Slitheen was up to something, so she felt it would be best if both she and the Doctor went with her to keep an eye on her. Little did the Time Lady know that Jack had a very different reason for suggesting she dine with them.

~8~

Margaret and the Time Lords were soon sat at a table in a bay-side bistro. "Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name." Margaret remarked to the Doctor, who was sat at the opposite side of the table.

"It's not a date!" the Doctor retorted. 'Not with YOU' he thought to himself, and shifted his gaze to Gazelle, who was sat next to him, reading her menu. Lately, he found himself noticing more and more just how attractive Gazelle was, and he had to admit, she looked particularly lovely right now; with her hazel eyes sparkling in the bistro's dim lighting, while her long, wavy brown locks cascaded down her back like a chocolate waterfall. Realising that he was ogling her again, he turned back to Margaret. "What's yer name?"

"Blon." the Slitheen answered. "I am Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen. That's what it'll say on my death certificate."

"Nice to meet ya, Blon." Gazelle said, not looking up from her menu.

"I'm sure." Blon Fel-Fotch said dryly, then set her menu down and looked out of the window. "Look... that's where I was living as Margaret." The Doctor turned around to follow her gaze, looking at a block of flats in the distance. "Nice little flat. Over there. On the top. Next to the one with the light on." While the Doctor's back was turned, she opened her ring and emptied a white powder into his wine glass. "Two bedrooms, bay-side view... I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again."

"Probably not." Gazelle said, swapping the Doctor's and Margaret's wine glasses around, having seen the Slitheen's little stunt.

"Thank you." Blon Fel-Fotch said sarcastically.

"Don't mention it." the Time Lady retorted in a matching tone, then took a sip of her pint of lager and resumed reading her menu.

"Tell me then, you two, what do you know of our species?" Blon Fel-Fotch asked the two TIme Lords.

"Only what we've seen." the Doctor replied, reading his own menu.

"Did you know, for example... in extreme cases... when her life is in danger... a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture poison darts within her own fingers..." Blon Fel-Fotch fired a pair of darts out of her fingertips, straight at the Time Lords.

Gazelle casually leaned back in her chair and held her menu up to swat one dart away, while the Doctor simply caught the other one in mid-air without even looking up from his menu. "Yes, we did." he said calmly.

"Just checking." Blon Fel-Fotch said nonchalantly, and quickly thought of a new plan. "And one more thing... between you and me..." She cast a furtive look around the restaurant and she and the Doctor leaned in as if she wanted to tell him a secret. "As a final resort, the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs."

She began to exhale a cloud of green gas out of her mouth, but the Doctor, without even flinching, whipped out a breath freshener and gave the Slitheen's mouth a quick squirt, dispersing the gas. "That's better." he said casually, and leaned back in his seat. "Now then, what d'yer think?" he asked Gazelle.

"The beef burger sounds very tempting." she replied. "Think I'll go with the beef burger and chips. What about you?"

"Mmm, steak looks nice." the Doctor replied. "Steak and chips!"

Blon Fel-Fotch scowled at them, and opened her menu.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose and Mickey were walking around the bay area. Rose was chatting away enthusiastically to Mickey, but although he tried to appear interested, he wasn't really. "The Doctor and Gazelle took me to this planet a while back." Rose was saying. "It was much colder than this, they called it 'Woman Wept'. The planet was actually called 'Woman Wept'. 'Cos, if you looked at it, right, from above, there's like this huge continent, like all curved round... sort of looked like a woman, you know... lamenting. Oh my God, and we went to this beach, right, no people, no buildings, just this beach like, a thousand miles across! And something had happened, something to do with the sun, I don't know, but the sea had just frozen! Like, in a split second in the middle of a storm, right, waves and foam, just frozen! All the way out to the horizon. Midnight, right, we walk underneath these waves a hundred feet tall, made of ice."

Mickey had long since given up trying to look interested. He had some news of his own and decided that it was now or never. "I'm going out with Trisha Delaney."

Rose stared at him, wrong-footed. "Right... that's nice... Trisha from the shop?"

"Yeah, Rob Delaney's sister."

"Well, she's nice... she's a bit big..."

"She lost weight." Mickey said, then they were both silent for a moment. "You've been away." Mickey spoke up, trying to justify himself.

"Well, good for you. She's nice." Rose said, though she wasn't happy about this at all. She wanted to have her cake and eat it too, and the fact that Mickey had moved on didn't please her at all.

"So, tell us more about this planet, then." Mickey said, feeling more relaxed now that he'd gotten his news off his chest.

"That was it, really..." Rose mumbled, and they moved in silence, worlds apart.

~8~

Blon Fel-Fotch was now trying to guilt the Time Lords into letter her go. "Public execution is a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid... lower me into the cauldron... and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid. And I become soup. And still alive. Still screaming."

"We don't make the law." the Doctor reasoned.

"But you deliver it." Blon Fel-Fotch argued. "Will you both stay to watch?"

"What else can we do?" the Doctor said resignedly.

"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe."

"But then you'll just start again." Gazelle countered. She and the Doctor knew that most Raxicoricofallapatorians were nice, decent people, but the Slitheen family were an exception. They were all bad eggs, as were their related family, the Blatheen.

"I promise I won't." Blon Fel-Fotch whispered.

"You've been in that skin-suit too long." the Doctor said. "You've forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. Yer pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips."

"Perhaps I have got used to it." Blon Fel-Fotch retorted. "A human life. An ordinary life. That's all I'm asking. Give me a chance, please... I can change."

"We don't believe you." the Doctor answered. After the Gelth incident, he'd learnt not to be so trusting and gullible.

~8~

Rose stood by some railings, looking out across the water, while Mickey sat on a bench with his back to her. "So, what d'ya wanna do now?" he asked.

"Don't mind." Rose mumbled.

"We could ask about hotels." Mickey suggested.

"What would Trisha Delaney say?"

"S'pose." Mickey conceded. "There's a bar down there with a Spanish name or something..."

Rose swung round suddenly. "You don't even like Trisha Delaney!" she burst out.

"Oh, is that right? What the hell do you know?"

"I know you. And I know her, and I know that's never gonna happen. So who do you think you're kidding?!"

"At least I know where she is!"

"There we are, then." Rose rolled her eyes. "It's got nothing to do with Trisha. This is all about me, isn't it..."

"You left me!" Mickey snapped, standing up with sudden fury. "We were nice. We were happy. And then what, you give me a kiss and you run off with them and you make me feel like nothing, Rose. I was nothing!" He began to tear up as a year's worth of bottled-up emotions came flooding out. "I can't even go out with a stupid girl from a shop because you pick up the phone and I comes running. I mean, is that what I am, Rose? Standby? Am I just supposed to sit here for the rest of my life, waiting for you? Because I will."

"I'm sorry." Rose whispered, feeling ashamed. Truth be told, she hadn't spared much thought to Mickey during her travels. She'd flirted with Adam and Jack, effectively ignoring the fact that she and Mickey were technically still together and the fact that Mickey had been ostracised by everyone they knew for an entire year all because of her. The Doctor hadn't helped matters with his constant put-downs and deliberately getting Mickey's name wrong just to annoy him. Gazelle was more considerate of Mickey, and Rose wished the Time Lady was here right now. Maybe her mediation could help smooth things over between her and Mickey.

~8~

Gazelle meanwhile was still in the restaurant with the Doctor, listening to Blon Fel-Fotch's pleas. "I promise you, I've changed since we last met, Doctor, Gazelle. There was this girl... just today... young thing. Something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then... I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now, she's walking around this city because I can change, I did change. I know I can't prove it..."

"I believe you." the Doctor said calmly.

"Then you know I'm capable of better."

"That was a good thing to do, but it doesn't mean anything." Gazelle said.

"I spared her life." Blon Fel-Fotch protested.

"You let one of them go, but that's nothing new." the Doctor said knowingly. "Every now and then, a little victim's spared. Because she smiled... because he's got freckles... 'cos they begged... and that's how yer live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction... you happen to be kind."

"Only a killer would know that." Blon Fel-Fotch said coldly, throwing both Time Lords off-guard. "Is that right? From what I've seen, your happy-go-lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake, Doctor. Always moving on 'cos you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples lives, you might as well be a God."

The Doctor lost eye contact with the Slitheen, feeling slightly hurt by her accusations. Gazelle squeezed his hand reassuringly, reminding him that she was there for him and to not take Blon Fel-Fotch's words to hearts.

"And you're right, Doctor..." Blon Fel-Fotch continued, "you're absolutely right. Sometimes... you let one go. Let me go."

"We can't." Gazelle told her empathically. "I am sorry about what will happen to you, but there's a wise saying on this planet; 'If you can't do the time, don't do the crime'. And we're sorry about your family, but we gave you a chance to end it all without any more bloodshed and you didn't take it, leaving us with no choice."

~8~

Mickey had calmed down and was talking more calmly to Rose as they sat side-by-side on the bench. "I'm not asking you to leave them 'cos I know that's not fair." he said. "They're ya friends, and Gazelle's alright, but I just need something, yeah? Some sort of promise that when you do come back, you're coming back for me."

Rose spun around as she heard a low rumbling in the distance. "Is that thunder?" she frowned.

"Does it matter?" Mickey waved her off, hurt that she was more concerned about the weather while he was trying to rebuild their relationship.

"That's not thunder." Rose stated.

~8~

"In the family Slitheen, we had no choice." Blon Fel-Fotch said quickly, growing more and more desperate. "I was made to carry out my first kill at 13. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs."

Neither the Doctor nor Gazelle were listening; their attention was caught by the same rumbling that Rose had heard.

"If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill, it's all I know!" Blon Fel-Fotch continued, then she realised her pleas were falling on deaf ears. "Are either of you even listening to me?!"

"Can you hear that?" the Doctor frowned, furrowing his brows.

"I'm begging for my life!"

"No, listen." Gazelle urged as the rumbling sounded again.

The Doctor peered at the glasses on the table to see them start to shake slightly. Then, very suddenly, the glass windows of the restaurant shattered, causing the patrons to scream.

~8~

Streetlights at the bay-side marina blew out, sending passers-by screaming. A baffled Mickey looked around for Rose and saw her running off in the direction of the TARDIS. "Oh, go on then, run!" he shouted after her bitterly. "It's him again, innit? It's the Doctor! It's always the Doctor! It's always gonna be the Doctor and it's never me!"

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and Blon Fel-Fotch hurried down a flight of stairs, the sounds of screaming echoing all around them. The Slitheen was falling behind the Time Lords. "The handcuffs!" she wailed.

The Time Lords waited for her at the bottom of the stairs and the Doctor removed her handcuff. "Don't think yer running away." he said as he and Gazelle each took one of Blon Fel-Fotch's wrists.

"Oh, I'm sticking with you." Blon Fel-Fotch said fearfully as they hurried off in the direction of the TARDIS. "Some date this turned out to be!"

They reached the Roald Dahl Plass to see a huge bolt of lightning-like energy shooting out of the TARDIS' lamp and into the night sky. "It's the rift." the Doctor realised. "The rift's opening!" Storm clouds gathered overhead as they ran across the square, the concrete cracking all around them. The Doctor managed to unlock the door and they scrambled inside the box. The console room was in chaos, with warning lights on the console blinking away like mad. Jack was frantically ripping the wires out of the extrapolator. "What the hell are yer doing?!" the Doctor demanded as he and Gazelle rushed to the console.

"It just went crazy!" Jack answered.

"It's the rift." Gazelle said as she checked the monitor. "It's opening, and time and space are ripping themselves apart. The whole city's gonna disappear if we don't stop it!" She and the Doctor jumped back as the console sparked.

~8~

Rose reached the Roald Dahl Plass and stared in horror at the energy shooting out of the TARDIS into the sky.

~8~

"It's the extrapolator!" Jack said as he and the Time Lords worked furiously to try and sort things out. "I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engines! It's using the TARDIS, I can't stop it!"

"Never mind Cardiff, it's gonna rip open the planet!" the Doctor realised.

Just then, Rose burst in. "What is it?" she panted, "What's happening?!"

"Oh, just little me!" Blon Fel-Fotch cackled gleefully, and before anyone could do anything, she ripped off the arm of her skinsuit to reveal her claw and she grabbed Rose and held her in a neck hold. The others all rushed forward to intervene. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise." the Slitheen threatened.

""I might've known." the Doctor scowled.

"It all makes sense now; you distract us while the extrapolator hi-jacks the TARDIS." Gazelle realised.

"And I've had you two bleating all night, poor babies." Blon Fel-Fotch crowed, stepping closer with Rose still held in her grip. "Now shut it!" She turned to Jack. "You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet."

Jack hesitated. Blon Hel-Fotch tightened her grip on Rose's neck to show that she meant business. Jack looked at the Time Lords for help, who both nodded to indicate that he should co-operate, and Jack did what he was told.

"Thank you." Margaret said in a mock-sweet voice. "Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station." Rose choked out.

"Falling that, if I were to be... arrested... then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own." Blon Fel-Fotch explained smugly. "Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift." She looked around the TARDIS in awe. "And what a power source it found... I'm back on schedule... thanks to you."

"The rift's gonna convulse. " Jack warned. "She'll destroy the planet."

"And you with it!" Blon Fel-Fotch crowed in triumph, and pushed Rose aside so that she could stand on the extrapolator, but still kept a hold of the blonde's neck. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back boys and girls... surf's up."

Suddenly, a panel on the console directly in front of Blon Fel-Fotch burst open and a blinding white-gold light flooded out of it. The Slitheen looked at the light in surprise, then up at the Time Lords on the other side of the console. "Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart." the Doctor said calmly.

"So sue me." Blon Fel-Fotch sneered.

"It's not just any old power source." the Doctor continued, "It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap." Blon Fel-Fotch said nastily.

"What's that light?" Rose asked, squinting through the light.

"The heart of the TARDIS." Gazelle answered.

"This ship's alive. Yer've opened her soul." the Doctor told Blon Fel-Fotch.

Breathing heavily, Blon Fel-Fotch stared into the light, seemingly forgetting everything else. "It's... so bright." she said in a vague and dreamy voice.

"Look at it, Margaret." the Doctor coaxed

"Beautiful..."

"Look inside, Blon Fel-Fotch. Look at the light.

Blon Fel-Fotch stared at the light, completely transfixed by it. Her grip on Rose slackened, allowing the Human to stumble out of the way. Blon Fel-Fotch continued to stare into the light, a blissful smile spreading across her face. Then she looked up at the Doctor, who smiled slightly. "Thank you..." Blon Fel-Fotch said genuinely.

There was a blinding flash, completely engulfing the Slitheen. When it cleared, her empty skin-suit flopped to the floor on top of the extrapolator.

The Time Lords sprang into action. "Don't look at that light!" Gazelle warned the Humans. "Look away or close ya eyes if ya have to, just don't look at it!" She and the Doctor rushed around the console, slamming down levers. The panel on the console closed, shutting off the light.

"Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down." the Doctor instructed.

"Rose, turn all the switches on that panel there to the right." Gazelle said, and Rose rushed to do so.

Everyone worked fast. Finally, the energy shooting out of the TARDIS stopped and the warning lights stopped blinking as everything calmed down.

"Nicely done." the Doctor said, stepping back from the console. "Thank you all."

"What happened to Margaret?" Rose asked.

"Must've got burned up." Jack guessed, "Carried out her own death sentence."

"No, I don't think she's dead." Gazelle said as she and the Doctor walked over to examine the skinsuit.

"Then, where'd she go?" Rose asked.

"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and even I don't know how strong that is." the Doctor replied, "And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside yer head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts." He knelt down next to the skin-suit for a closer look. The others followed suit, so all four of them were huddled around. The Doctor fished about inside the skin-suit and pulled out an egg with a few tentacles on top. "Here she is!" he said.

"She's an egg?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Regressed to her childhood." the Doctor nodded.

"She's an egg?" Jack stared.

"She can start again. A clean slate." Gazelle said. "If we take her home, give her to a different family and tell 'em to bring her up properly, then she might grow up to become a better person."

"Or she might be worse." Jack remarked.

"That's her choice." the Doctor replied.

"She's an egg." Rose repeated.

"She's an egg." the Doctor smiled.

Gazelle then noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Mickey?" she asked.

"Oh, my God!" Rose gasped, and rushed out of the TARDIS.

~8~

Things outside had calmed down, but the damage had been done. The pavement was cracked, windows were shattered and emergency services were on the scene, all busy cleaning up the mess and tending to the injured. Rose asked around, but no one had seen Mickey.

What Rose didn't know was that Mickey was standing in the shadows, watching her and not wanting to be found. After watching Rose for a moment, he turned and walked away into the night.

~8~

Rose returned to the TARDIS to find the Doctor, Gazelle and Jack tinkering at the console, sorting out the mess the extrapolator had caused. "We're all powered up." the Doctor said. "We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go. If that's all right..."

"Yeah, fine." Rose said, her voice light but traces of tears in her eyes.

"Is Mickey alright?" Gazelle asked carefully.

"He's ok. He's gone."

"We can wait if ya wanna go back out and find him." Gazelle offered.

"No need." Rose shook her head. "He deserves better."

"Off we go, then." the Doctor said briskly. "Always moving on."

"Next stop: Raxicoricofallapatorious." Jack said as the Doctor pulled a lever to set them off. "Now, ya don't often get to say that."

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery." the Doctor said, gesturing to the egg, which had now been placed on the console. "Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."

"That'd be nice." Rose murmured.

The TARDIS' engines wheezed into life and the box dematerialised away from Cardiff, back into time and space.

Chapter Text

The Doctor awoke to find himself crouched inside what appeared to be a small, darkened cupboard. He became aware of someone lying on the floor next to him. "Who's there?" he called.

"It's me." Gazelle's voice answered, "What happened?"

"Dunno." the Doctor replied, leaping to his feet. He helped Gazelle up and they began to feel around the walls. "What is it?" the Doctor called out, "What's happening?"

He found a door unexpectedly and fell through it, landing flat on his face on the floor of a brightly coloured room with drawings on the wall and modern style chairs. Gazelle stepped out behind him, a little unsteady on her feet, just as a blonde woman in a white hoodie came running over. "Oh, my God!" the woman gasped, "I don't believe it! Why'd they put you two in there? They never said you were coming."

The Doctor tried to pull himself up, feeling very disoriented. "But what happened?" he mumbled, "I was..."

"Careful now." the woman advised. The Doctor's legs gave way and he fell flat on his face again. "Oh! Mind yourself." the woman said, "Oh, that's the transmat. Scrambles ya head. I was sick for days." The Doctor managed to stand again while Gazelle leaned against the wall rubbing her temples. "You both alright?" the woman asked concernedly, "So, what're your names then, sweethearts?"

"The Doctor, I think." the Time Lord muttered, "I was, er... I dunno what happened."

"And my name's Gazelle, I think." the Time Lady added, "I'll let ya know when this room stops spinning around. Ooh, my head feels like it's been through a blender."

"You both got chosen." the woman told them, grinning as if that explained everything.

"Chosen for what?" the Doctor asked, regaining his bearings.

"You're housemates." the woman answered, "You're in the house! Isn't that brilliant?!" She laughed as if that was something to be happy about.

"That's not fair!" an effeminate male voice complained, and the Time Lords looked round to see a man and a black woman sitting on a purple settee in front of a telly, which had a familiar eye logo on it. "We've got eviction in five minutes!" the man complained, "I've been here for nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning, and then they come swanning straight in."

"If they keep changing the rules, I'm gonna protest, I am." the black woman grumbled, "You just watch me, I'm gonna paint the walls."

The bemused Time Lords looked around the room to see that it looked like something out of those God-awful reality shows that early 21st century Humans were obsessed with. A camera on the ceiling turned to focus on them, then a voice that sounded like Davina McCall, but more robotic spoke up; "Would the Doctor and Gazelle please both come to the diary room?" The Time Lords looked round to see a silver door with an illuminated eye slid open behind them. They entered the diary room and sat themselves down in a pair of red armchairs, both still a little confused about their surroundings. "You are live on channel 44,000." the robotic Davina voice told them, "Please do not swear."

"You have got to be kidding." the Doctor scoffed. Of all the places in the universe to end up, they would have to end up in the Big Brother house!

~8~

Rose awoke to find herself lying on the floor of a darkened room in a beam of light. She looked around bemused with a just-woken-up look. "What happened?" she mumbled blearily.

A black man was crouched beside her, observing her. "It's alright." he told her, "It's the transmat. Does ya head in." Rose looked around at her surroundings, blinking in a daze. "Get a bit of amnesia." the man continued. "What's ya name?"

"Rose." the blonde mumbled, just about remembering. "But... where's the Doctor?"

"Just remember, do what the Anne-droid says." the man warned. "Don't provoke it. The Anne-droid's word is law."

"What d'ya mean, android?" Rose asked, "Like... a robot?"

"Positions, everyone!" a woman's voice called, "Thank you!"

"Come on, hurry up." the man said, helping Rose to stand, "Steady, steady..."

Rose hung onto him for support. "I was travelling." she said, regaining her bearings, "With the Doctor, a girl called Gazelle and a man called Jack. They wouldn't just leave me..."

"That's enough chat!" the woman's voice ordered, "Positions! Final call!" The woman in question was standing next to an inactive robot which was being tended to by a few technicians. The Robot was standing on a platform, around which were six podiums, people milling about them. "Good luck!" the woman said.

"But I'm not s'posed to be here." Rose frowned, confused and a bit frightened.

"Well, it says Rose on the podium." the man said

Rose looked, and sure enough, her name was on one of the podiums, causing her to stare in disbelief.

"Come on." the man said and dashed off to stand behind his podium, which revealed that his name was Rodrick.

Still confused, but with a dawning realisation, Rose took her place behind her podium. "Hold on... I must be going mad." she muttered, recognising her surroundings as the set of The Weakest Link, a game show she and her mother sometimes watched. "It can't be. This looks like..."

"Anne-droid activated!" the woman said, she and the technicians stepping back as the robot sprang to life.

"Oh, my God, the android." Rose stared, "The Anne-droid."

"Welcome to The Weakest Link." the robot announced in a robotic version of Anne Robinson's voice, and the theme music cued.

~8~

Jack awoke to find himself lying on chair in the studio of What Not to Wear. Standing over him were robotic versions of Trinny and Susannah. "Here we go again." Trin-E commented, "We've got our work cut out for us."

"I don't know, he's sort of handsome." Zu-Zana answered, "That's a good lantern jaw."

"Lantern jaws are so last year."

Jack sat upright. "Sorry... nice to meet you ladies, but where exactly am I?" he asked

"We're giving you a brand-new image." Trin-E told him

"Ok, hold on. I was with the Doctor and Gazelle..." Jack began, then registered what Trin-E had said. "Why? Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"It's all very 20th century." Zu-Zana answered, gesturing to Jack's t-shirt and jeans, "Where did you get that denim?"

"Little place in Cardiff." Jack replied, "It was called 'The Top Shop'."

"Oh, design classic." Zu-Zana said, gliding around him.

"But we're going to have to find you some new colours." Trin-E interjected, "Maybe get rid of that Oklahoma farm boy thing that you've got going on."

Jack stood up and faced then, rather indignant, but at a loss for words.

"Just stand still and let the defabricator work it's magic." Zu-Zana told him

"What's the defabricator?" Jack questioned. He got his answer when the robots activated a device which shot a beam of light at Jack, vaporising his clothing. "Ok, defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?"

"Absolutely!" the robots chorused

"Ladies, your viewing figures just went up." Jack grinned smugly.

~8~

In the Big Brother house, the Doctor was running his sonic screwdriver over the front door. "I can't open it." he said after trying for a few minutes.

"It's got a deadlock seal." the blonde woman told him, "Ever since Big Brother 504 when they walked out. You must remember that?"

Gazelle was examining a mirror on the other side of the room. "What about this?" she asked, running her sonic screwdriver over it.

"Oh, that's exoglass." the woman replied, "You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

"Don't tempt us." the Doctor remarked, crossing over to join Gazelle.

The woman came over as well. "I know ya not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you two must've been watching." she whispered, "Do people like me? Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I, she got forcibly evicted for damaging a camera. Am I popular?"

"I don't remember." the Doctor replied, which was technically true as both he and Gazelle found Big Brother as entertaining as watching paint dry, so they didn't have a clue on people's opinions on housemates.

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing?" Lynda asked, sounding slightly upset, "Some people only get this far cos' they're insignificant. Doesn't anyone notice me?"

Gazelle stopped sonicing and turned to her. "No, you're nice. You're very sweet." she told her, not wanting to upset her, "Everyone thinks you're sweet."

"Oh, is that right?" Lynda asked, feeling better at that. "Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet, really?"

"Yeah, dead sweet." the Doctor replied

"Thank you." Lynda smiled, touched.

The Doctor turned to look at one of the windows. It was solid black. "It's just a wall, isn't there supposed to be a garden out there?" he asked, going over to take a closer look.

"Don't be daft, no one's got a garden anymore." Lynda scoffed as she and Gazelle followed him over, "Who's got a garden? Don't tell me you've got a garden!"

"We've got a garden in the TARDIS." Gazelle replied

The Doctor spun round to face her, realising what she'd just said. "I remember." he said

"That's the amnesia." Lynda said, "So what happened? How did you two get here?"

"We'd just left Raxicoricofallapatorius." the Doctor recalled, "Then we went to Kyoto."

"Yeah, that's right, we went to Japan in 1336." Gazelle nodded, remembering too, "And we only just escaped."

"We were together, we were laughing." the Doctor continued, "And then... there was this light... this white light coming through the walls, and then..."

"We woke up here." Gazelle finished

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam." Lynda told them, "That's how they pick housemates."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Oh, Lynda with a Y, sweet little Lynda..." He walked a few paces into the room. "It's worse than that. We're not just a couple of passing travellers. No stupid little transmat beam gets inside our ship. That beam was 15 times more powerful, which means... this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." He walked up to the mirror, knowing that there was a camera behind it. "Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. We're getting out. We're gonna find our friends. And then we're gonna find you." He pointed ominously at the camera.

~8~

In the Weakest Link studio, the floor manager was counting down ready to begin filming; "17... 16... 15... thank you people, transmitting in 12... 11... 10..."

An agitated Rose turned to Rodrick. "But I need to find the Doc..."

"Just... shut up and play the game!" Rodrick told her impatiently.

"Alright then. What the hell?" Rose shrugged, "I'm gonna play to win!"

"3, and cue!" the floor manager finished

"Let's play The Weakest Link." the Anne-droid announced, and the music started up. "Start the clock." It turned to the first contestant. "Agorax, the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?"

"Bread." Agorax answered

"Correct." the Anne-droid acknowledged and turned to the next contestant, "Fitch, in the Pan Traffic calendar, which month comes after Hoob?"

"Is it... Clavadoe?" Fitch offered hesitantly

"No, Pandoff. Rose, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"

"100." Rose answered

"Correct, Rodrick..."

"Bank." Rodrick said

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word 'dangle' but not in the word 'gland'?"

"E." Roderick answered after a second's thought.

"Correct. Colleen, in social security, what D is the name of the payment given to Martian drones?"

"Default." Colleen answered

"Correct. Broff, the Great Cobalt Pyramid is built on the remains of which famous old Earth institute?"

"T... Touchdown." Broff tried hesitantly

"No, Torchwood." the Anne-Droid told him.

Rose laughed, while Broff looked distraught.

The Anne-droid turned back to the first contestant. "Agorax, in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word 'facetious'?"

"Vowels."

"Correct. Fitch, in biology, which blood cells contain iron, red or white?"

"Um... white." Fitch tried nervously

Rose giggled, while Fitch looked as though her heart had sunk into her shoes.

"No, red. Rose, in the holovid series Jupiter Rising, the Grexnik is married to whom?"

"How should I know?" Rose chortled.

~8~

In the Not What to Wear studio, Jack stood admiring himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles. He was wearing a white tank top and black leather trousers. "It's the buccaneer look." Trin-E said, "Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger."

"Nah, not sure about the vest." Jack said, "What about a bit of colour to lift it?"

"Absolutely not." Zu-Zana told him, "Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets."

"I kinda liked the first one." Jack said

"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel. I think I like the shorter one."

Jack tried on the leather jacket in question.

"Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum."

"Works for me." Jack smirked

"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face." Trin-E said, "Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?"

"Well, I've considered it, yeah." Jack shrugged, "A little lift around the eyes... tighten up the jaw line... what do you think?"

"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition..." Trin-E said, taking a cap off it's forearm to reveal a chainsaw underneath, "Let's do something... cutting edge."

~8~

In The Weakest Link, the first round was over, and it was time for the vote off. "So, Rose, what do you actually do?" the Anne-droid asked

"I just travel a bit." Rose said light-heartedly, "Bit of a... tourist, I s'pose."

"Another way of saying unemployed."

"No."

"Have you got a job?"

"Well... not really, no, but..."

"Then you ARE unemployed. And yet, you've still got enough money to peroxide. Why Fitch?"

"Uh... I think she got a few of the questions wrong." a wrong-footed Rose replied, "That's all."

"Oh, you'd know all about that." the Anne-droid sassed

"Well, yeah, but I can't vote for myself." Rose retorted, "So it had to be Fitch." Fitch began to sob silently. Rose didn't understand. "I'm sorry, that's the game." she told her, "That's how it works... I had to vote for someone."

Fitch ignored her and addressed the Anne-droid, completely terrified. "Let me try again." she pleaded desperately, "It was the lights and everything, I couldn't think."

"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round." the Anne-droid announced, "But, it's the votes that count."

"I'm sorry." Fitch begged, "Oh please... oh, God, help me!" She looked wildly around at her fellow contestants, pleading for help that they couldn't give.

Rose, still in the dark, looked at her in confusion. Roderick looked away indifferently, Agroax and Colleen both looked guiltily at the floor and Broff sobbed silently into the board he was holding up.

"Fitch, you are the weakest link." the Anne-droid announced, "Goodbye!" It's mouth opened and a gun protruded from it. Without a moment's hesitation, the Anne-droid fired a thick and fast bolt of yellow-gold light at Fitch, and in a flash, she disappeared, leaving behind nothing but billowing smoke.

"And we've gone to the adverts." the floor manager announced, "Back in three minutes..."

"What's that?" Rose asked Roderick, "What's just happened?"

"She was the weakest link." Roderick answered, wiping his board clean, "She gets disintegrated, blasted into atoms."

Rose was stunned. "But I voted for her." she breathed, "Oh, my God, this is sick! All of ya, ya just sick! I'm not playing this..."

Broff lost his nerve. "I'm not playing." he whimpered in terror, "I... I can't do it!" The Anne-droid turned to him as he leapt off his podium and tried to run for it. "I'm not... please, somebody let me..."

"You are the weakest link." the Anne-droid said and fired at him, causing him to disappear mid-run. "Goodbye."

Rose was left staring, mouth open in shock and absolutely disgusted. "Don't try to escape." Roderick warned her, "It's play... or die."

~8~

In the Big Brother house, Lynda and the other two housemates were sat on the settee in front of the telly while the Time Lords tried again to sonic the doors open. "Doctor, Gazelle, they said all housemates must gather on the sofa." Lynda called to them, "You've both got to."

"We're busy getting out, thanks." the Doctor waved her off

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished."

The Doctor begrudgingly accepted this and stumped over to the settee, Gazelle following him. "Well maybe we'll be voted out, then." the Doctor huffed

"How stupid are you?" the man scoffed, "You've only just joined. Neither of you are eligible."

"And don't try anything clever or we'll all get it in the neck." Lynda warned as the Time Lords plopped down on the settee.

The robotic Davina voice spoke up; "Big Brother house, this is Davina-droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction."

The three housemates all gripped each other's hands anxiously. The Doctor rolled his eyes and Gazelle slouched back, neither of them bothered in the slightest.

"And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother house is..."

There was a long, tense pause, further annoying the bored Time Lords.

"Crosbie!" Davina-droid announced

The black woman looked as if her world had been crushed. The other two housemates were immediately all over her. "I'm sorry." Lynda counselled, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it should've been me, that's not fair." the man said, putting an arm around Crosbie, "Oh, Crosbie, love..."

"They're really milking this." Gazelle commented quietly to the Doctor.

"Crosbie, you have 10 seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!" Davina-droid said.

Crosbie shakily stood up and went to the door, Lynda and Strood accompanying her. The Time Lords stayed sitting, both rolling their eyes at the theatrics. "I won't forget you." Lynda said to Crosbie.

"I'm sorry I stole your soap." Crosbie sniffled

"Oh, I don't mind, honestly." Lynda replied, hugging the woman.

"And thanks for the food, you're a smashing cook." Strood added, kissing Crosbie on the cheek, "Bless you."

The door slid open to reveal a white room behind it, ending in another door. "Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House." Davina-droid said.

"Bye then." a terrified Crosbie said, "Bye Lynda."

"Bye." Lynda sobbed. Both she and Strood made an archway with their arms and Crosbie walked underneath and into the room. The door closed behind her. "I don't believe it." Lynda breathed, "Poor Crosbie."

"It's only a game show, she'll make a fortune on the outside!" the Doctor scoffed, "Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that... she'll be laughing!" Rose loved Big Brother and had forced the Time Lords to watch it with her sometimes, so they knew of the fate of some of the contestants despite their dislike for the show.

"What d'you mean, 'on the outside'?" Lynda stared at him

The screen came on to show Crosbie standing in the middle of the white room, trembling. "Here we go." Strood said, he and Lynda dashing back to the settee and perching on the edge nervously. There were a few tense moments while Crosbie stood in the room, waiting, and Lynda and Strood watched her anxiously.

"Well, what're they waiting for?" Gazelle grumbled, "Why don't they just open the door and let her go?"

"Stop it, it's not funny." a tearful Lynda snapped

"Eviction in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!" Davina-droid announced. And with the same bolt of energy that the Anne-droid used on Fitch, Crosbie was disintegrated. The tension was released and Lynda and Strood both stared at the screen distraught.

The Doctor and Gazelle both leaned forward, shocked at what they'd just seen. "What was that?" the Doctor breathed

"Disintegrator beam." Strood answered

The Time Lords looked at the Humans, not fully understanding. "She's been evicted." Lynda elaborated, "From life."

The Doctor got up and paced around the room. "Are you insane?" he lay into the Humans, "You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important getting yer face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?!"

"You're talking like we've got a choice!" Lynda shot back, standing up.

"I thought you had to apply." Gazelle reasoned

"Don't be so stupid." Strood scoffed, "That's how they played it centuries back."

"Ya get chosen whether you like it or not!" Lynda explained, "Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant, the transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's non-stop. There are 60 Big Brother houses running all at once."

"How many?" the Doctor stared in shock.

"60?!" Gazelle spluttered.

"They've had to cut back." Strood said dejectedly, "It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house!" the Doctor burst out, unable to believe what he was hearing, "What about the winners, what do they get?"

"They get to live." Lynda replied

"Is that it?!"

"Well, isn't that enough?!" she shot back

"This is sick!" Gazelle shook her head in disgust, then realised something else. "Rose and Jack are out there." she said, standing up and walking across the room, "They got caught in the transmat too. They're contestants."

"Time we got out." the Doctor said grimly, "That other contestant, Linda with an I, she was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property." Lynda replied

"What, like this?" the Doctor retorted, flashing his sonic screwdriver at the camera, destroying it.

~8~

In the What Not to Wear studio, Jack was dressed up in tennis gear and standing in front of the mirror swishing a racket around. "No, I'm not getting this." he said, stopping, "It's too safe, too decent. And you'd never keep it clean."

"Stage two, ready and waiting!" Zu-Zana said

"Bring it on, girls!" Jack grinned, standing in front of the defabricator. It stripped him of his clothes and he was standing naked in front of the two robots once more.

"And now it's time for the face-off!" Trin-E said

"What does that mean?" Jack asked enthusiastically, "Do I get to compete with someone else?"

"No, like I said, face... off!" Trin-E replied, holding up it's arms. One had needles sticking out of the ends of it's fingers, the other a chain saw.

Jack stared at it, not scared, but mildly surprised.

"I think you'd look good with a dog's head." Zu-Zana said, snipping the enormous scissors that had replaced it's forearm.

"Or maybe no head at all." Trin-E pipped in, "That would be so outrageous."

"And maybe we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest."

"NOTHING is too extreme." Zu-Zana gloated, "It's to die for."

Jack raised an eyebrow, not remotely perturbed. "Now, hold on, ladies." he said calmly, "I don't wanna have to shoot either one of you."

"But you're unarmed." Trin-E gloated

"You're naked." Zu-Zana added

Jack just reached behind him and produced a small gun, then aimed it at the two robots.

"But... that's a compact laser deluxe!" Zu-Zana spluttered

"Where were you hiding that?" Trin-E questioned

"You really don't wanna know." Jack retorted

"Give me that accessory." Trin-E demanded, advancing on him.

Jack just simply fired his weapon at it, blowing it's head off, then he did the same to Zu-Zana.

~8~

In The Weakest Link studio, another round had ended. "You are the weakest link, goodbye!" the Anne-droid said, and vaporised Colleen.

"Going to the break." the floor manager announced, "Two minutes on the clock. Just a reminder, we've got solar flare activity coming up in ten."

Roderick was wiping his board clean. Rose turned to him. "Colleen was clever, she banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?" she demanded

"Cos' I want to keep you in." Roderick retorted, "You're stupid! You don't even know the Princess Vossaheen's surname. When it comes down to the final, I wanna be up against you. So that you get disintegrated, and I get a stack-load of credits. Courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation."

"What d'ya mean?" Rose frowned, "What's Bad Wolf?"

"They're in charge." Roderick replied as if it was obvious, "They run the Game Station."

"Why're called Bad Wolf?"

"I dunno. It's just a name. It's like an old Earth nursery rhyme sort of thing... what, does it matter?"

"I keep hearing those words everywhere we go." Rose said pensively, "Bad Wolf. Different times... different places like it's written all over the universe..." She thought back to Gwyneth's words in 1869 Cardiff about the big bad wolf, then she recalled the graffiti on the TARDIS during the Slitheen incident, followed by a TV channel on Satellite Five called the 'Bad Wolf channel', then there was a rave poster in 1987, the name of the bomb that had nearly destroyed the Chula med-ship and most recently, the nuclear power station that Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen had been planning to build.

"What're you going on about?" Roderick snorted

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then... maybe I'm not here by mistake." Rose said thoughtfully, "Someone's been planning this..."

~8~

In the Big Brother house, Lynda, Strood and the Time Lords were sat on the settee. "The Doctor, you've broken the house rules." Davina-droid said, "Big Brother has no choice but to evict you." The Doctor punched the air in triumph. "You have 10 seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!"

"That's more like that!" the Doctor grinned, leaping up and running to the door, "Come on then, open up!"

"You're mad!" Lynda stared, "It's like you wanna die!"

"I reckon you're both plants." Strood said to Gazelle, "You two were only brought in here to stir things up."

"Oh, we're plants alright." Gazelle retorted, "But not to stir this excuse for mass murder up."

The door slid open and the Doctor dashed through it into the white room beyond. "The Doctor, please leave the Big Brother house." Davina-droid ordered

Strood rushed back to the settee to watch on the telly while Lynda stayed by the doorway with Gazelle, who was completely casual about the whole thing. When the door shut, both women turned back to the telly.

"Come on then, disintegrate me!" the Doctor egged, "Come on, what're yer waiting for?!" He looked impatiently and expectantly up at the disintegrator.

"He is, he's mad." Lynda said to Gazelle, "He's bonkers!"

"Oh, yes." Gazelle grinned, "That's our Doctor. Complete nutter, and that's how I like him."

"Disintegrate me!" the Doctor continued to goad the cameras.

He folded his arms and calmly waited as the Davina-droid counted down; "Eviction in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1."

Lynda braced herself, but nothing happened.

"Ha-ha! I knew it!" the Doctor crowed, "Yer see? Someone brought us into the game. If they'd wanted us dead, they could've transmatted us into a volcano. They want us alive." He walked up to the other door. "Maybe the security isn't as tight this end." He looked menacingly up at the camera. "Are yer following this? I'm getting out!" He soniced the lock and the door opened, as did the one back into the house. "Yer coming?" he asked Gazelle.

"You bet I am." Gazelle replied, joining him in the white room, then she turned back to Lynda. "Come with us." she encouraged

Lynda looked to Strood, who was kneeling on the settee. "We're not allowed!" he protested

"Stay in there, yer got a 50-50 chance of disintegration." the Doctor told Lynda, "Stay with us, we promise we'll get you out alive. Come on!"

"No.. I can't, I can't..." Lynda protested

"Lynda, you're sweet." Gazelle told her, "From what we've seen of your world, sweet means bugger all. D'ya think anyone votes for sweet?"

Lynda saw the logic in this. The Doctor held out his hand and after a moment's hesitation, Lynda took it and off they went.

After going through the door, they found themselves in a familiar setting. "Hold on... we've been here before." the Doctor realised, "This is Satellite Five!"

Gazelle went to another door and soniced it open. "No guards for once." she remarked, "Makes a change."

"Yer'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth." the Doctor agreed, sonicing a control panel.

"No one's called it Satellite Five in ages." Lynda remarked, "It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years."

"100 years exactly." Gazelle observed, checking her watch, "It's the year 200,100."

"We were here before." the Doctor explained to Lynda while sonicing a door, "Floor 139. Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then... had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious."

"As long ya consider a great big lump of meat on the ceiling messing about with Humanity nothing serious." Gazelle remarked, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's casual attitude.

"Easy." the Doctor continued, ignoring that remark, "Gave 'em a hand, home in time for tea."

"A hundred years ago?" Lynda smiled sceptically while the Doctor tried to open a door with it's touch-sensitive hand pad to no avail. "What, you were here a hundred years ago?"

"Yep." Gazelle replied, scanning the edges of the door with her sonic screwdriver.

"Well, ya both looking good for it." Lynda smiled

The Doctor turned to her. "I moisturise and Gazelle gets plenty of beauty sleep." he said nonchalantly. 'Not that she needs it.' he thought to himself.

"Hmm, I'm getting some funny readings." Gazelle frowned, checking her sonic screwdriver, "All sorts of energy."

The Doctor checked his sonic screwdriver too. "Yeah, this place is humming." he concurred, "It's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?" He tried another door.

"I dunno." Lynda shrugged, "I think we're the first contestants to get outside."

After failing to open the door with the hand pad, the Doctor scanned it with his sonic screwdriver. "We had two friends with us." he told Lynda, "They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?"

"I dunno. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

Both Time Lords gave her their full attention. "Like what?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, there's 10 floors of Big Brother." Lynda replied, "There's a different house behind each of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows, it's non-stop. There's Call my Bluff with real guns. Countdown, where ya got 30 seconds to stop the bomb going off. Ground Force, which is a nasty one... ya get turned into compost. Erm... Wipeout, speaks for itself, same with Gladiators. Hole in the Wall, where ya have to fit through the hole or ya fall in acid. Oh, and Stars in their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If ya don't sing, you get blinded."

"And you people watch this stuff?!" an appalled Gazelle stared. She remembered the Doctor telling her that about how he'd once seen torture and murder being televised for entertainment on the planet Varos, but she couldn't believe that planet Earth itself would ever stoop to that low.

"Everyone does." Lynda shrugged, "How come you two don't?"

"Never paid for our licence." the Doctor replied, just as appalled at what he'd just learned.

"Oh, my God, you get executed for that!" Lynda exclaimed

"Let 'em try." the Doctor retorted, holding up his sonic.

"You both keep saying things that don't make sense." Lynda observed, "But who are you two, though? Really?"

"Doesn't matter." the Doctor waved her off, walking off to try the next door.

"Well, it does to me." Lynda retorted, "I've just put my life in your hands."

"We're just two travellers wandering around." Gazelle replied while the Doctor examined the door lock, "Believe it or not, but all we want is a quiet life."

"So... if we get out of here, what're ya gonna do? Just... wander off again?" Lynda asked

"Fast as we can." the Doctor replied

"So... I could come with ya." Lynda said tentatively

The Time Lords both looked at her. "Maybe yer could." the Doctor smiled

"I wouldn't get in the way."

"We wouldn't mind if ya did." Gazelle smiled, "The more the merrier, Lynda with a Y."

"But first of all, we've gotta concentrate on the getting out." the Doctor said, going back to business and scanning the edges of the door, "And to do that, you've got to know yer enemy. Who's controlling it, who's in charge of the satellite now?"

"Hold on..." Lynda ran to the opposite end of the room and pulled down a lever, which illuminated huge letters on the wall. "Your lords and masters." Lynda said, pointing to the letters, which said 'Bad Wolf Corporation.'

Both Time Lords paled at those familiar words. They had intended to look more into them after dropping Blon-Fel-Fotch off but had ultimately forgotten thanks to the Sltheen's attempt to open the Cardiff rift and then the subsequent adventure in Kyoto.

"Definitely not a coincidence." Gazelle mumbled.

~8~

In the Not What to Wear studio, Jack had assembled an outfit for himself and was now busy attaching his compact laser deluxe to the defabricator. "Compatible systems... just align the wave signature..." he rambled to himself, "Thattaboy! Got myself a gun." He picked his new weapon and turned to the smoking remains of Trin-E and Zu-Zana. "Well, ladies, the pleasure was all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end." And off he went.

Jack ran out onto floor 299 and and placed his hand on the pad to open the door to the lift, then he checked his Vortex Manipulator. "Two hearts each, that's them. Which floor?" He impatiently pressed a few buttons on the lift and the door closed.

~8~

Meanwhile, the Time Lords and Lynda were on floor 56, walking out onto an observation deck. "Blimey!" Lynda exclaimed, rushing over to the window, "I've never seen it for real before! Not... not from orbit. Planet Earth."

The Time Lords joined her by the window, but the planet Earth below was not any that they had expected to see. The whole planet was grey with smog, with just a few patches of light here and there. "My God, what's happened to it?" Gazelle asked

"Well, it's always been like that." Lynda replied casually, "Ever since I was born. See that there?" She pointed at something. "That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going 20 years. We get newsflashes tellin' us when it's safe to breathe outside."

"So, the population just sits there?" the Doctor asked, "Half the world's too fat, half the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?"

"10,000 channels." Lynda replied brightly, not seeing any problem with that, "All beaming down from 'ere."

"The Human race." the Doctor shook his head grimly, "Brainless sheep, being fed on a diet of..." He turned to Lynda and suddenly changed to a more light-hearted tone, "Mind you, have they still got that program where three people have to live with a bear?"

"Oh, Bear with Me, I love that one!" Lynda grinned

"Us too." Gazelle smiled, "The best one was that celebrity edition where the bear..."

"Got in the bath." all three finished together and laughed at the memory.

"But it's all gone wrong." the Doctor went serious again, "I mean, history's gone wrong, again. This should be the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time we were here, we put things right."

"No, but that's when it first went wrong." Lynda remarked, "A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

"But that was us." Gazelle breathed, "We did that."

"There was nothing left in their place." Lynda continued, "No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed... that was the start of it. 100 years of hell."

"Oh, my..." the Doctor stared, horrified at the revelation, "We made this world."

"Margaret was right." Gazelle said sadly, "We do leave devastation in our wake."

~8~

It was the end of the penultimate round on The Weakest Link, and Agrorax was the unlucky loser.

"That leaves Rose and Rodrick, you're going head-to-head." the Anne-droid announced, "Let's play The Weakest Link."

"Right, that's the end of tactical voting." Rodrick said to Rose without looking at her, "You're on ya own now."

~8~

On floor 56, Jack had found the Time Lords. "Hey, handsome. Hello, beautiful." he greeted, "Good to see ya both! Any sign of Rose?"

"Can't you track her down?" Gazelle asked

"She must still be inside the games." Jack replied, "All the rooms are shielded."

The Doctor was tinkering with a computer. "If we can just get inside this computer..." he said, "She's got to be here somewhere."

"Well, you'd better hurry up." Jack told him, "These games don't have a happy ending."

"Yeah, we saw for ourselves." Gazelle replied, going to help the Doctor.

Jack handed the Doctor his Vortex Manipulator. "There ya go, patch that in. It's programmed to find her."

"Thanks." the Doctor nodded and set to work.

Jack then noticed Lynda. "Hey there!" he greeted.

"Hello!" she waved back

"Captain Jack Harness."

"Lynda Moss."

"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss!"

"Can ya save the flirting till later?" Gazelle cut in. Usually, she found Jack's flirty nature entertaining, but now was not the time and place.

"I was just saying hello!" an indignant Jack defended.

"For you, that's flirting." the Doctor grunted. He too found Jack's flirting entertaining nowadays, but not at the present moment.

"I'm not complaining." Lynda smiled to Jack

"Which is a very good idea." Jack smirked and kissed her hand, "Muchas gracias."

The Doctor was still trying to hack into the computer with the Manipulator, but not having much success. "It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense!" he fumed, whacking the computer in frustration.

"Let's try again." Gazelle soothed, removing the cover of the computer terminal.

"This place should be a basic broadcaster." the Doctor said to Jack, handing Gazelle the Manipulator, "The systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television... this station's transmitting something else."

"Like what?" Jack asked

"We don't know." Gazelle replied, getting to work with the Manipulator.

"This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with us." the Doctor explained, "Something's manipulating our entire lives. It's some sort of trap and Rose is stuck in it."

~8~

In The Weakest Link studio, Rodrick had answered his first question correctly and now it was Rose's turn.

"Rose, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which ancient British city?" the Anne-droid asked

"Is it York?" Rose tried

"No, the correct answer is Sheffield."

~8~

The Vortex Manipulator beeped. "Ah-ha, got her!" Gazelle said, "She's on floor 407."

Lynda gasped with horror. "Oh, my God! She's with the Anne-droid! You've gotta get her outta there!" she said frantically

"Well, what're we waiting for?" the Doctor urged, and they all raced to the lift.

~8~

"Rodrick, in literature, the author of Lucky was Jackie who?" the Anne-droid asked

"Stewart?" Rodrick guessed

"No, the correct answer is Collins." the Anne-droid told him and turned to Rose; "Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"

"Boe!" Rose said immediately, "The Face of Boe!"

There were a few seconds tense silence then...

"That is the correct answer."

~8~

The Time Lords, Jack and Lynda were in the lift to floor 407, with the Time Lords watching the numbers on the indicator impatiently. "Come on... come on!" the Doctor urged. Lynda had told them what happened on The Weakest Link, and they knew they had to get Rose out of there before the murderous Anne-droid made the blonde it's next victim.

~8~

"Rodrick, in history, who was the President of the Red Velvets?" the Anne-droid asked

"Hoshbin Frame." Rodrick answered

"That is the correct answer. Rose, in food, the dish gaffabeque originated on which planet?"

Rose had absolutely no clue. "Um, is it... Mars?"

"No, the correct answer is Lucifer. Rodrick, which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?"

Rodrick didn't know this one. "Would that be a goffle?"

"No, the correct answer is a paab. Rose, in fashion, Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?"

Rose took a firm but random guess. "Shoes."

"No, the correct answer is hats."

~8~

The lift finally arrived at floor 407 and the quartet belted out. "Game Room Six, which one is it?!" the Doctor frantically asked Lynda

"Over here!" Lynda answered, and they rushed to a door at the far end.

"Rodrick, in physics, who discovered who discovered the 15-dash-10 barric fields?" The Anne-droid's voice sounded over the speakers.

"San... Hazeldine?" Rodrick's voice answered

"No, the correct answer is San Chen." the Anne-droid told him just as the quartet reached the door.

"Stand back, let me blast it open." Jack said, readying his defabricator.

"Yer can't, it's made of hydra combination." the Doctor told him, pressing his sonic screwdriver to one end of the hand-pad while Gazelle used hers at the other end.

~8~

"Rose, in history, which Icelandic city hosed Murder Spree 20?" the Anne-droid asked

"Reykjavik...?" Rose tried hesitantly

There were a few seconds tense silence, then...

"No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura."

The game was finished, and Rodrick was the winner. "Oh, my God! I've done it!" he grinned. "You've lost!" he jeered at Rose

"But I'm not meant to be 'ere!" a terrified Rose burst out, "I've gotta find the Doctor and Gazelle, they've gotta be here somewhere... they're always here! They wouldn't just leave me!"

The Anne-droid ignored her and spoke over her, "Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with 1,600 credits."

"Oh, thank you." Rodrick grinned, "Thank you so much."

"This game is illegal!" Rose said, strong but scared, "I'm telling you to stop!"

At that moment, the door at the end of the studio burst open and the Doctor, Gazelle, Jack and Lynda all charged in.

"Rose!" Gazelle yelled, attracting the blonde's attention.

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing..." the Anne-droid began

"Stop this game!" the Doctor demanded to the floor manager, "I order you to stop this game!"

"We're live on air!" she waved him off

Rose ran towards her friends who in turn ran towards her. "Look out for the Anne-droid, it's armed!" Rose warned them

"You are the weakest link..." The robot in question turned it's head and it's jaw dropped open. The disintegrator beam shot out, hitting Rose square in the back.

And with a scream, Rose was gone, mere feet from the Time Lords, leaving just a pile of ash on the floor. Enraged, Jack stormed towards the set. "What the hell did you to do to her?!" he raged.

Gazelle dropped to her knees in shock beside the smoking pile of ash that was once Rose Tyler. The Doctor knelt down beside her and pulled her into her arms as she sobbed into his shoulder while he stared numbly in shock at the pile of ash. A furious Jack continued to tell the production team what he thought of their cruel game while the two Time Lords just stayed where they were.

A bunch of security goons stormed in and two of them roughly pulled the Time Lords to their feet. "Don't you touch them!" Jack growled, brandishing his weapon, "Leave them alone!"

One of the goons aimed a pistol at the Doctor's head. "Drop your weapon!" he demanded to Jack, who had no choice but to comply.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Jack screamed at the floor manager as another goon dragged him away, "YOUR STUPID FREAKING GAME SHOW KILLER HER!"

The two broken Time Lords made no moves to resist as the goons cuffed them and listed charges.

~8~

They had soon all been taken to a brig. The security leader roughly shoved the Doctor against the gate and searched his pockets. The Time Lord was completely unresisting, past caring. The goon wrenched the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's pocket and roughly turned him round to face him. "Can you tell us the purpose of this device, sir?" the goon asked brusquely.

The Doctor didn't answer, he just looked blankly at the goon, who shoved him into a cage with the others.

"Can you tell us how you three got on board?" the goon demanded to the three time travellers.

"Just leave them alone..." Lynda protested

The goon grabbed her chin, silencing her. "I'm asking them." he retorted wickedly, then turned back to the Doctor. "Sir, can you tell us who you are?"

Still no answer, ditto with Gazelle and Jack, so they were taken to have their mug shots taken, then taken back to the cage for sentencing. The three time travellers were numb and blank the whole time.

"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial." the goons' leader stated, "You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?" he finished coldly. He got no response from any of the quartet, so went back to the gate to join his colleague.

The Doctor finally showed some life again. "Let's do it!" he said to Jack.

All four of them leapt to their feet. Jack rushed the leader, slamming him into the gate and knocking him out. He then gave the other goon a good kick to the face, knocking him out too. A third goon tried to intervene, only for the Doctor to slam him against the wall, knocking him out too. With the way out now clear, the Time Lords retrieved their sonic screwdrivers while Jack snagged two of the goons' guns and the defabricator, then they left the brig.

~8~

The quartet all piled into the lift and the Doctor took the defabricator from Jack, releasing the safety catch in readiness, while Gazelle programmed the lift to take them to floor 500, which they assumed was still the nerve centre of the satellite.

They assumed correctly as they stepped out of the lift to find floor 500 full of computers and staff. "Ok, move away from the desk!" Jack demanded, "Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear! Move to the sides and stay there!"

The staff wisely complied while the Time Lords strode purposefully to a woman wired up the computers. She was deathly white and muttering under her breath, monitoring and controlling all the transmissions. "Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor demanded, brandishing the defabricator at her, "This station's more than a game station."

"79... 80..." was all the woman said.

"Who killed Rose Tyler?" Gazelle demanded

"All staff are reminded that solar flares..."

"We want an answer!" the Doctor growled

"... in delta point one." the woman continued

"She can't reply." a male programmer reasoned, only to flinch back when the Doctor turned abruptly to him, defabricator at the ready. "Don't shoot!"

"Oh, don't be so thick!" the Doctor scoffed, tossing his weapon to the surprised programmer, "Like I was ever gonna shoot."

"We've got more guards on the way up, Flirt Boy." Gazelle said to Jack, "Can you make sure we're not disturbed?"

"Right on it, Biker Girl." Jack answered and went off to seal the doors.

"You, you were saying." the Doctor said to the male programmer

"But... I've got your gun." the bemused programmer said

"Ok, so shoot me." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Why can't she answer?"

"She's um... can I put this down?"

"If yer want, just hurry up." the Doctor said impatiently

"Thanks." The programmer put the defabricator down. "Sorry. Um.. the Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not members of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence."

"What's her name?" Gazelle asked

"I don't know." the programmer replied, "She was installed when she was five-years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

"Just when I thought this world couldn't make me any sicker." Gazelle muttered, shaking her head in disgust. "Jack, how we doing?"

"Door's sealed." Jack reported, "We should be safe for about 10 minutes."

"Keep an eye on 'em." the Doctor instructed

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station, I think you're right." the male programmer continued, "I've kept a log. Unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals... it's been going on for years."

"Show us." the Doctor ordered, while Jack went to open a door nearby.

"You're not allowed in there!" a female programmer called to him, "Archive Six is out of bounds."

"Do I look like an out-of-bounds sort of guy?" Jack retorted, holding his guns up. He placed his hand on the pad and entered Archive Six.

Archive Six was a sort of storeroom. Jack smiled as he saw a sight for sore eyes; the TARDIS was standing in the middle of the room. He fit his key in the lock and entered the box.

The TARDIS was humming away, a comforting and familiar sound. Slung casually over one of the railings was Rose's denim jacket. Jack paused, putting his hand on the jacket briefly, before pushing aside his grief and moving onto the console. He checked the monitor and leaned in closer, seeing something puzzling. "What the hell?" he frowned.

~8~

Outside, the Controller continued to ramble on about solar flares while the female programmer cautiously approached the two Time Lords. "If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out." she said impatiently, "The staff are terrified."

"Is this the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day for entertainment?!" Gazelle retorted

"That's not our fault, we're just doing our jobs." the programmer answered indifferently

"And with that sentence, yer just lost the right to even talk to us. Now back off!" a disgusted Doctor snapped, and the programmer wisely obeyed.

One of the screens suddenly went to static and the lights flickered off. "That's just the solar flares." the male programmer explained, "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor..." the Controller suddenly spoke up

"Doctor?" the female programmer called

"Whatever it is, you can wait." the Doctor told her bluntly

"I think she wants you." the female programmer persisted, gesturing to the Controller.

"Doctor. Gazelle." the Controller said, "Where are the Time Lords?"

The Doctor and Gazelle both quickly ran up. "We're here." the Doctor said

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you two."

"What yer want?" the Doctor asked

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My... my masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now. The sun... the sun is so bright..."

"Who are your masters?" Gazelle tried

"They wired my head, their name is forbidden." the Controller continued, "They control my thoughts, my masters... my masters. I had to be careful. They monitor the transmissions, but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you both inside the games."

"Our friend died inside your games." the Doctor said coldly

"Doesn't matter."

"Don't you dare tell me that!" the Doctor glared

"They've been hiding." the Controller continued, "My masters, hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth... so, so, so many years... they've always been there. Guiding Humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years..."

"Who are they?" the Doctor asked

"They wait. They plan and grow in numbers, they're strong now. So strong, my masters..."

"Who are they?" the Doctor persisted

The Controller suddenly looked at him. "But they speak of you. My masters, they fear the Doctor and all Time Lords."

"Tell us! Who are they?" the Doctor demanded, stepping forward.

But at that moment, the Controller gasped. The power flickered back on, and the Controller went back to firing off numbers.

"When's the next solar flare?" Gazelle asked the male programmer.

"Two years' time." he answered

"Fat lot of good that is." the Doctor grumbled

Just then, Jack emerged from Archive Six. "Found the TARDIS."

"We're not leaving now." the Doctor told him

"No. But the TARDIS worked it out." Jack replied, shoving the male programmer out of his chair and taking his place, "You'll wanna watch this. Lynda, could ya stand over there for me, please?"

"I... I just wanna go home." Lynda protested

"It'll only take a second." Jack said with a fixed smile, "Could ya stand in that spot, quick as you can?" Lynda complied and stood in an empty area of floor. "Everybody watching? Ok... 3... 2... 1..." He pressed a button and a disintegrator beam shot down from the ceiling and hit Lynda, leaving nothing but a billow of smoke.

The Time Lords stared at Jack. "You killed her!" Gazelle burst out.

"Oh, d'ya think?" Jack replied calmly and pressed the button again.

Lynda reappeared right next to the Time Lords, slightly dazed but completely unharmed. "What the hell was that?" she asked

"It's a transmat beam, not a disintegrator." Jack explained, "A secondary transmat system."

Both Time Lords realised what he was saying, causing their eyes to light up. "Ya mean..." Gazelle began, daring to hope.

"People don't get killed in the games!" Jack confirmed, "They get transported across space! Rose is still alive!"

The Doctor and Gazelle both laughed ecstatically at this news and all three threw their arms around each other in a group hug.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose awoke to find herself lying on a metal floor. She sat up to see that she was aboard some kind of spaceship. Then, she saw something that sent shivers down her spine. "It can't be..." she breathed, scrambling to her feet as something horribly familiar advanced towards her. She stumbled backwards, gasping. "But you're dead... I saw you die!" She was backed against a wall and tried to edge sideways but was stopped by a plunger arm.

~8~

Back on the Game Station, the Doctor had asked Jack and the programmers to try and track down where the secret transmats took their victims to. "She's out there somewhere." he said, dashing from console to console.

"Doctor!" the Controller spoke up. It was causing her pain to communicate with the Doctor and defy her masters, but she carried on determined; "Coordinates 5.6.1..."

"Don'! The solar flare's gone, they'll hear you!" the Doctor warned, typing in those coordinates.

"...434." the Controller continued, crying out with pain. "No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma delta 77..." She was cut off as she was hit by a transmat beam.

"No! They've got her!" Gazelle groaned, looking at the mass of wiring where the Controller was.

~8~

The Controller reappeared on the floor of the same spaceship Rose had been taken to. She got to her feet, her blind eyes staring forward, defiant and proud. "Oh, my masters." she said gleefully, "You can kill me. For I have brought your destruction."

She was blasted by a ray gun, causing her to glow negative and show her skeleton before slumping to the floor dead.

~8~

On the Game Station, Jack was sat at one of the computer terminals with the others gathered around him. "Look, use that." the male programmer said, handing him a disc, "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmission."

"Nice, thanks." Jack smirked, holding up his hand and eyeing him in an entirely un-platonic manner, "What's ya name?"

"I'm Davitch Pavale." the programmer replied, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale." Jack said flirtatiously

"There's a time and a place." the Doctor cut in

"Are you saying this entire set-up's been a disguise all along?" the female programmer, Nisha, asked.

"Going way back." the Doctor replied, "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game. Controlling the Human race from behind the scenes for generations."

"The question is, who?" Gazelle mused, "This goes far beyond a simple consortium of banks."

"Well, let's find out." Jack said, handing the Doctor a small device, "Click on this." The Doctor took it, pointed it upwards and clicked. A holographic image of an empty expanse of space appeared in front of them. "The transmat delivers to that point." Jack said, "Right on the edge of the solar system."

"There's nothing there." Nisha pointed out.

"No, it just looks like nothing." Gazelle told her, "Cos' that's what this station is doing. There's another signal underneath the transmissions."

"Doing what?" Davitch asked

"Hiding whatever's out there." the Doctor answered, "Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanners. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible. If I cancel the signal..." He typed some commands into the computer.

When he looked back at the screen, the expanse of space was no longer empty. Right in front of them was a huge saucer-shaped spaceship revolving slowly. Both the Doctor and Gazelle recognised the ship instantly. Their faces fell and they both went as pale as sheets. The camera panned back to reveal ship after identical ship, 200 in total.

"That's impossible." Jack breathed, "I know those ships... they were destroyed."

"Obviously they survived." the Doctor said quietly

"Who did? Who are they?" Lynda asked

"200 ships." the Doctor murmured fearfully, both he and Gazelle griping each other's hands tightly, "More then 2000 aboard each one. That's just about half a million of 'em."

"Half a million what?" Davitch asked

"Daleks." the Doctor and Gazelle said together, the fear in their voices clear to everyone in the room.

~8~

And indeed, Rose found herself surrounded by Daleks. "Alert! Alert! We are detected!" one announced

"It is the Doctor." another one said, "He has located us! Open communications channel."

Another Dalek swivelled round to face Rose. "The female will stand. Stand!"

Rose wisely obeyed. A holographic screen came up, showing the Doctor, Gazelle, Jack, Lynda, Davitch and Nisha.

~8~

The Doctor was grim. He looked at the Daleks surrounding Rose with distaste.

"I will talk to the Doctor." a Dalek said

"Oh, will you? That's nice, hello!" the Doctor waved mockingly

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."

"Oh, really?" the Doctor retorted, "Why's that then?"

"We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated."

"No." the Doctor said simply

As one, the Humans all jerked their heads in his direction, while Rose stared, all of them wandering what he was doing. The only person not looking at the Doctor was Gazelle, who just glared at the Daleks. She may be the more civil one of the Time Lords, but Daleks were an exception for her.

"Explain yourself." a Dalek demanded, clearly not having anticipated this answer.

"I said no." the Doctor repeated in a dangerous voice.

"What is the meaning of this negative?"

"It means no." Gazelle said, her tone matching the Doctor's.

"But she will be destroyed!"

"No!" the Doctor snarled, standing up in his passion, "Cos' this is what we're gonna do; we're gonna rescue her." Rose listened, the pride evident in her eyes, while the others looked at him in awe. "We're save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then we're gonna save the Earth." the Doctor continued, passionate and fiery, "And then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek outta the sky!"

"But you have no weapons!" a Dalek shrieked, "No defences! No plan!"

"Yeah." the Doctor grinned, "And doesn't that scare you to death?!"

Gazelle stepped forward; "Rose?"

"Yeah?" the blonde answered eagerly

"We're coming to get you." Gazelle said, and nodded to the Doctor, who shut the screen off.

~8~

The Daleks took the Time Lords' threat very seriously and went into battle stations. "The Doctor is initiating hostile action!" one said

"The stratagem must advance." another said, "Begin the invasion of Earth!"

"The Doctor and the Time Lady will be exterminated!" a third Dalek said as they spun round and pressed their plungers onto the wall controls.

"Exterminate!" the Daleks chanted.

The entire ship was filled with thousands of Daleks, all crying 'Exterminate' as one. Rose could only look around in horror at the huge, insane army.

To be continued...

Chapter Text

The Daleks were in a state of panic. One rounded on Rose. "You know the Doctor and the Time Lady. You understand them. You will predict their actions!" it demanded.

"I don't know!" Rose retorted, "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell ya!"

The Dalek advanced on her. "Predict! Predict! Predict!" it demanded hysterically, backing Rose against the wall.

"TARDIS detected in flight." another Dalek announced

"Launch missiles! Exterminate!" the first Dalek ordered

"You can't!" Rose pleaded desperately, "The TARDIS hasn't got any defences, ya gonna kill 'em!"

"You have predicted correctly." the first Dalek retorted.

~8~

Two missiles blasted out of the Dalek flagship and shot towards the TARDIS, which was hurtling through space.

"We've got incoming!" Jack warned, checking the monitor while the Time Lords worked the controls.

The two missiles struck their target and exploded, only for the TARDIS to fly straight through the explosion completely unscathed.

"Ok, the extrapolator's working." Gazelle said, working on the device in question, "We've got fully functioning forcefields."

"Try saying that when ya drunk." Jack smirked

"And for my next trick..." the Doctor said, slamming a lever down.

~8~

On the Dalek flagship, Rose and the Daleks suddenly heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS materialising, and they looked around. A breeze blew Rose's hair as she turned to see the faint outline of the TARDIS appearing around her. It surrounded her and one of the Daleks. The Doctor and Gazelle's outlines became more and more distinct, standing either side of the console. When the box appeared fully...

"Rose, get down!" the Doctor warned

Rose floundered. The Dalek's eyestalk swivelled around

"Get down, Rose!" Gazelle hollered

Rose hit the deck just as the Dalek yelled; "Exterminate!" and fired at Jack, who ducked, causing the shot to hit the wall. Then he returned fire with the defabricator, causing the Dalek to explode with a scream.

Once the smoke had settled, Gazelle helped Rose to her feet. "You did it!" the blonde breathed in relief, throwing her arms around the Time Lady, "Feels like I haven't seen ya all in years."

"I told you we were coming to get you." Gazelle answered as they pulled away

"Never doubted it." Rose smiled

"I did." the Doctor said, coming over and hugging Rose too, "You alright?"

"Yeah." Rose answered, "You two?"

"Not bad, been better." the Doctor replied nonchalantly, then he and Gazelle went to examine the remains of the Dalek.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack said, coming over to join them.

"Oh, come here you!" Rose replied

"I was talking to them." Jack joked, gesturing to the Time Lords. Both Humans laughed and threw their arms around each other. "Welcome home." Jack said.

"Ohh, thought I'd never see ya all again." Rose said as they pulled apart

"Oh, you were lucky. That was just a one-shot wonder." Jack said, "Drained the gun of it's power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk." He tossed the defabricator away and he and Rose went over to join the Time Lords.

The Doctor was scanning the remains of the Dalek with his sonic screwdriver. "You said they were extinct." Rose said, "How come they're still alive?"

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space." Jack added

"They had bigger fish to fry." Gazelle answered, "They went off to fight the Time War."

"I thought that was just a legend." a surprised Jack frowned

"We were there." the Doctor replied grimly, "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. Our people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them." He studied the smouldering remains of the Dalek. "I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turned out they died for nothing." he finished sadly.

Gazelle took his hand. "We'll stop them." she said, "Even if it's the last thing we ever do, we'll stop them."

"There's thousands of 'em now." Rose pointed out, "We could hardly stop one. What're we gonna do?"

"No good standing here chin-wagging!" the Doctor spoke up, suddenly sounding cheerful, "Human race, you'd gossip all day. Daleks have all the answers, let's go and meet the neighbours." And he and Gazelle headed off down the ramp towards the doors.

"You can't go out there...!" Rose called urgently

The Time Lords just stepped out regards and found themselves surrounded by Daleks. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" they bellowed and opened fire. But their shots just reflected harmlessly off the forcefield surrounding the TARDIS, keeping the Doctor and Gazelle safe, as well as Jack and Rose, who had cautiously popped their heads out behind the Time Lords. The Daleks gave up and the sounds of their guns faded into silence.

"Is that it?" the Doctor jeered, raising his hands mockingly, "Nul points!" He casually leaned against the TARDIS and turned to the Humans, "It's alright, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything."

"Almost anything." Jack pointed out

"Yeah, but we weren't gonna tell them that." Gazelle grunted, gesturing to the Daleks.

"Sorry." Jack muttered sheepishly

The Doctor stepped forward to address the Daleks; "D'yer know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek home-world? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed yer emotions... but I reckon that right down in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." The Daleks' eyestalks twitched nervously, proving him right "Doesn't it just burn when you face me?" he continued, gloating, "So, tell me, how did yer survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me." a deep, booming voice sounded from somewhere on his left.

The Doctor and Gazelle both turned and began to walk towards the source of the voice. The lights came on to reveal a massive Dalek, it's mutant sitting in a tank supported by open armour, looking almost like a throne, towering above them all. The Time Lords stared up at it in open-mouthed awe. "Rose... Captain..." the Doctor began, fear evident in his voice, "This is the Emperor of the Daleks."

"You destroyed us, Doctor." the Emperor boomed, "The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, gripped but alive."

"I get it." the Doctor said

"Do not interrupt!" a Dalek screeched, and two more repeated the cry, all of them sounding like a deranged chorus.

The Doctor turned to them. "I think you're forgetting something." he said simply, "I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's gonna shut up, it's YOU!" he thundered, causing the Daleks to shuffle backwards slightly. The Doctor turned back to the Emperor, "Okey doke, where we we?"

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding." the Emperor monologued, "Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of Humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed, they all came to us. The bodies were filleted, pulped, sifted. The seed of the Human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So, you created an army of Daleks out of the dead." the Doctor glared

"I always knew Daleks were vile filth, but this is something else!" Gazelle sneered in disgust.

"That makes 'em... half-Human." Rose remarked, grimacing in disgust at what she'd just heard.

"Those words are blasphemy!" the Emperor roared

"Do not blaspheme!" the Dalek chorus screeched

"Everything Human has been purged." the Emperor insisted, "I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."

The Doctor looked around at the Daleks, clearly disturbed. "Since when did Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" he frowned.

"Yeah, that's not typical Dalek beliefs at all." Gazelle agreed

"I reached into the dirt and made new life." the Emperor told them, "I am the God of all Daleks!"

"Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!" the Dalek chorus all chanted

"They've gone crazy." Gazelle realised, "Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that'd drive anyone round the bend."

"But it's worse than that." the Doctor agreed, staring intently at the Daleks, walking towards them, even pitying them. "Driven mad by yer own flesh. The stink of Humanity." He shook his head. "You hate yer own existence. And that makes 'em more deadly than ever." He turned back to the Emperor. "We're going."

"You may NOT leave my presence!" the Emperor thundered.

The quartet ignored it and walked towards the TARDIS, none of the Daleks in power to stop them. "Stay where you are!" one demanded

The Doctor just grinned mockingly at them before closing the door. "Exterminate!" the Daleks chorused and fired fruitlessly at the shielded TARDIS.

Once inside, the Doctor leaned his head against the door while Gazelle slumped on the jump seat with her head buried between her knees, the sounds of the Daleks' weapons bringing back the horrible memories of the Time War and the deaths of all the Time Lords' families, friends and colleagues.

~8~

On the Game Station, Lynda was sitting on floor 500 deep in thought, waiting for the Doctor and Gazelle to get back. She perked up when she heard the sound of the TARDIS' engines. A second later, the Time Lords, Rose and Jack marched out of the box, which had materialised at one end of the floor, Jack carrying the extrapolator in his hands. "Turn everything up." the Doctor ordered, striding up to the controls, "All transmissions, wide open, full power. Now! Do it!"

"What does that do?" Davitch asked as he complied

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board." the Doctor answered, "How'd yer get on? Did yer contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn 'em, but all they did was suspend our licence cos' we stopped the programmes." Davitch replied

"The fools, they've no idea what's coming." Gazelle shook her head in disbelief, then noticed that Lynda was still there. "Lynda, what're you still doing here?" She turned to Davitch. "We told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go." Davitch told her

"Didn't wanna leave ya." Lynda smiled, then turned to Rose. "You must be Rose. Nice to meet ya, I'm Lynda Moss." She held out her hand and Rose shook it, a little puzzled but deciding to be polite nevertheless.

"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here." Nisha said, "We've got about a hundred people stranded on floor zero."

Just then, Davitch noticed something on the screen; "Oh, my God. The fleet is moving. They're on their way."

Everyone looked, and sure enough, the Dalek fleet was beginning to move smoothly across space, destination: Earth.

The Doctor rushed over to the computer terminals and began to frantically rip out armfuls of wires from them. The others watched him, not knowing what he was trying to do. "Dalek plan, big mistake, cos' what've they left me with?" he asked quickly, "Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter, this station. If we can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?"

"Oh, of course!" Gazelle realised

"You've gotta be kidding." Jack exclaimed, also working it out.

"Give them both medals!" the Doctor beamed

"A delta wave?" Gazelle and Jack asked in unison

"A delta wave!" the Doctor confirmed excitedly, and Gazelle raced up to help him.

"What's a delta wave?" Rose asked

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy." Jack explained, "Fries ya brain. Stand in the way of a delta wave and ya head gets barbequed!"

"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!" the Doctor grinned

"Well, get started and do it then!" Lynda exclaimed cheerfully

"There's just one thing." Gazelle spoke up, "A wave this big, a building this big, a genius like the Doctor, should take about three days. How long till the fleet gets here?" she asked the programmers.

Davitch checked his screen. "22 minutes." he reported

The Doctor turned to Gazelle. "Good thing we've got you, then." he said. Gazelle had a knack for electronics that surpassed even his, she was just too modest to admit it. And he knew that if anyone could build a delta wave in a shorter time, it was the both of them together.

While the Time Lords worked, Jack plugged the extrapolator into the station's systems and gathered the other Humans around a computer. "We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky." Jack told them, "But that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the delta wave?" Davitch asked

"They'll have worked it out at the same time." Jack replied, "So, if they wanna stop the Doctor and Gazelle, that means they'll gotta get to this level, 500." He indicated the diagram on the screen. "Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So, they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up."

"Who're they fighting?" Davitch asked

"Us."

"And... what're we fighting with?"

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets, that's enough to blow a Dalek wide open."

"There's five of us." Nisha pointed out sceptically

"Rose, I need ya help." Gazelle called from where she was working, "These wires need stripping bare." Rose went off to join her immediately.

"Right, now there's four of us!" Nisha huffed

"Then let's move it!" Jack said, "Into the lift, isolate the lift controls."

The programmers rushed off to do so, while Lynda approached the Time Lords. "I, I just wanna say, um... thanks, I s'pose." she said, "And... I'll do my best."

"Us too." the Doctor replied

They rather awkwardly tried to decide on the best way of saying goodbye, eventually setting on a handshake. They both laughed embarrassedly, then Lynda hurried off, not noticing Rose glaring absolute daggers after her.

"And you can wipe that look off ya face, Rose." Gazelle said, not looking up from her work, "Lynda's not replacing you. There's room for both of you in the TARDIS." 'IF we survive this.' she thought to herself.

"Sorry." Rose mumbled and went back to work stripped a wire.

Jack approached the trio and stood before them, ready to say his goodbyes. "It's been fun!" he said, trying to keep it light, then went serious; "But I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't talk like that." Rose told him, "They're gonna do it. Just you watch 'em."

"Rose..." Jack cupped her face in both of his hands and looked her intently in the eyes. "You are worth fighting for." He gave her a small kiss and turned to Gazelle. "And so are you, Biker Girl." He hugged the Time Lady

"Good luck, Flirt Boy." Gazelle smiled, hugging him back, "Do us proud."

"You bet I will." Jack smirked and turned to the Doctor. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward." Both men shook hands and Jack made to leave. "See ya in hell." he grinned and went on his way.

The trio watched him leave, before Rose turned to the Time Lords. "He's gonna be alright..." she said, trying to make herself believe it. She received no answer. "Isn't he?"

Still no answer, the Time Lords just got back to work.

~8~

Jack was soon standing on a box on floor zero, surrounded by stranded contestants who were babbling away in panic. He fired a few shots in the air, silencing everyone. "One last time." he said, "Any volunteers?" Deadly silence. "There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence!"

Rodrick pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Don't listen to him!" he said arrogantly, "There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago!"

Not everyone shared his scepticism. The floor manager from The Weakest Link stepped forward to join Lynda, the programmers and the station's security guards, as did a few more contestants. "Thanks." Jack nodded to them and turned to the others, "As for the rest of you... the Daleks will enter the station at floor 494 and as far as I can tell they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice; keep quiet. And if ya hear fighting up above... if you hear us dying... then tell me that the Daleks aren't real." He glared pointedly at Rodrick. "Don't make a sound." He turned to his volunteers. "Let's go."

He jumped off the box and headed towards the lift, accompanied by his eight volunteers. They all bundled inside the lift and the doors closed.

~8~

The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose were now the only people left on floor 500. Rose was stripped wires and handing them to Gazelle, who soldered them into new positions with her sonic, while the Doctor tinkered with some parts. After a few minutes of working in a companionable silence, Rose spoke up; "Suppose..." But she didn't finish her sentence.

"What?" the Doctor asked after a moment

"Nothing." Rose shook her head

"No it isn't." Gazelle said, "You were gonna say something."

"No, I was just thinking..." Rose began, "I mean, obviously ya can't, but... you've got a time machine. Why can't ya just go back to last week and warn 'em?"

"Soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, we become part of events." the Doctor replied, not looking up from his work, "Stuck in the timeline."

"Yeah, thought it'd be something like that." Rose sighed and went back to work.

"There's another thing the TARDIS could do..." the Doctor said, "It could take us away... We could leave. Let history take it's course. We could go to Marbella in 1989."

"Yeah, but you two would never do that." Rose smiled softly

"No, but you could ask." Gazelle pipped in. "Never even occurred to ya, did it?" she smiled

"Well, I'm just too good." Rose shrugged

They carried on working for a moment, then the computer whirred in the background, attracting the Doctor's attention. "The delta wave's started building." he said, getting to his feet, "How long does it need?" He got to his feet and rushed over to the computers to find out. Rose followed him, while Gazelle carried on with her work. The Doctor plonked himself on one of the chairs while Rose peered over his shoulder. He pressed a few buttons, stared at the monitor, then his face fell.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer, his head sunk to his knees. "Ok, it's bad." Rose nodded "How bad is it?"

The Doctor suddenly perked up and leapt to his feet, eyes bright. "Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" he said gleefully and kissed Rose on the forehead, "We can do it! If we use the TARDIS to cross our own timelines... yes!"

He shot off towards the TARDIS, Rose close behind. Gazelle watched them with heavy hearts. She knew what the Doctor was really doing.

The Doctor and Rose hurried over to the TARDIS console. "Hold that down and keep position." the Doctor instructed, indicating a lever.

"What's it do?" Rose asked

"Cancels the buffers." the Doctor replied, looking busy at the computer, "If I'm very clever, and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant, I might just save the world. Or rip it apart..."

"I'd go for the first one." Rose said, holding the lever down as instructed.

"Me too." the Doctor replied, "Now, just gotta go and fetch Gazelle. Hold on!" He ran out of the TARDIS, full of energy. The door shut behind him and then he stopped. He turned slowly round to look at the TARDIS, his face now sad. Gazelle came up beside him and took his hand. What the Doctor was about to do was killing them both, but they knew it had to be done. The Doctor raised his sonic and aimed it at the TARDIS.

~8~

Inside the box, the engines groaned into life and the rotor started to rise and fall. "Doctor, what're ya doing?" a startled Rose yelled in the direction of the doors, "Can I take my hand off? It's moving." She abandoned the lever and ran to the doors. "Doctor, Gazelle, let me out!" she shrieked frantically, hammering on the doors, "Let me out! Doctor, what've ya done?!"

~8~

Outside, the Time Lords watched solemnly as the box they called home dematerialised into nothingness, taking their friend with it. They gave each other sad smiles and went back to work.

~8~

Rose continued to pound helplessly on the doors as the TARDIS flew through the Time Vortex by itself. Suddenly, a pair of holograms appeared in front of the console, one of the Doctor, the other Gazelle.

"This is emergency Program One." the holo-Doctor said, "Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can mean only one thing." Rose stared wide-eyed at the holograms. "We must be in danger, and I mean fatal. We're both dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape."

"No!" Rose cried, lunging forwards.

"And that's ok, as everything must die in the end." the holo-Gazelle spoke up, "But we promised we'd look after you and that's what we're doing. The TARDIS is taking ya home."

"I won't let ya!" Rose protested, stopping at the top of the ramp.

"And I bet yer fussing and moaning now, typical." the holo-Doctor said, "But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for us. Emergency Program One means we're facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine."

"So this is what we want ya to do." the holo-Gazelle took over, "Let the TARDIS die. Just lock the door, walk away and let her gather dust. No one can open her, no one will even notice her, she'll just be a funny little thing in the corner of the eye that everyone will ignore. And over the years, the world will move on, and the TARDIS will be buried and forgotten about. And if you wanna remember us, then ya can do one thing. That's all, just this ONE thing..." The hologram stepped forward, her eyes full of compassion. "Have a good life."

The holo-Doctor stepped forward too, his eyes also full of compassion. "Do that for us, Rose. Have a FANTASTIC life." he finished. Both holograms smiled and flickered off into nothingness.

Rose stared for a moment. "You can't do this to me." she burst out, striding to the console, "You can't!" She started slamming down every available button and lever. "Take me back!" she yelled in desperation, "TAKE ME BACK!"

But the TARDIS was locked on course and Rose's meddling did nothing. The engines eventually died down and ground to a halt. Rose ran across the room, flung open the doors and rushed outside to find herself on a street near the Powell Estate on a grey and dismal day.

She ran back inside, refusing to accept what was happening. "Come on, fly." she raged, rattling the controls, "How d'ya fly? C'mon, HELP ME!" But to no avail.

Mickey Smith raced down the road towards the TARDIS just as a dejected Rose stepped out. "I knew it!" Mickey said, striding towards her, "I was all the way down Clifton Parade, and I heard the engines and I thought 'there's only one thing that makes a noise like that.'" As he got closer, he realised that Rose was in tears. "What is it?" he asked, concerned. Despite what she'd put him through, he still cared about her.

Rose didn't reply, she just threw her arms around him and clung to him tightly, sobbing.

~8~

Back on the Game Station, the Doctor and Gazelle were both busy working when Jack contacted them over the intercom; "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen, can ya read 'em out to me?"

"She's not here." the Doctor said plainly

"Of all the times to take a leak!" Jack commented, "When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes."

"She's not coming back." Gazelle sighed

"What d'ya mean? Where'd she go?" a wrong-footed Jack asked.

"Just get on with yer work." the Doctor said bluntly

"You took her home, didn't you?" Jack realised

"We had to." Gazelle answered

Jack nodded his understanding, realising just how hopeless their situation was. "The delta wave... is it ever gonna be ready?"

Before either Time Lord could answer, a familiar booming voice interrupted; "Tell the truth, Time Lords." The Doctor and Gazelle looked up to see the Dalek Emperor on screen. "There is every possibility that the delta wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The delta wave must kill every living thing in it's path, with no distinction between Human and Dalek. All things will die. By your hands." it sneered.

"Doctor, Gaz... the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth." Jack pointed out

"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together." the Emperor gloated, "If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Time Lords?"

"You are not a god!" Gazelle snapped, "There's Human colonies out there among the cosmos. The Human race will survive regards of what happens on Earth. But you're the only Daleks in existence."

"The whole universe is in danger if we let you live." the Doctor agreed. "D'yer see, Jack? That's the decision we've gotta make for every living thing. Die as a Human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?" he appealed to his friend.

Jack thought for a moment. "You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working."

"But they will exterminate you!" the Emperor pointed out

"Never doubted 'em, never will." Jack grinned

The two Time Lords smiled at their friend's loyalty and trust, then the Doctor got up and strode across to the screen; "Now, you tell me, 'God of all Daleks', cos' there's one thing we never worked out. The words 'Bad Wolf', spread across time and space. Everywhere, drawing us in. How'd yer manage that?"

"I did nothing." the Emperor replied

"Oh, come on." the Doctor scoffed, "There's no secrets now, yer worship."

"They are NOT part of my design." the Emperor insisted, "This is the truth of God."

The screen shut off and the Doctor raised his eyes to where 'Bad Wolf Corporation' was written in huge letters high on the wall.

~8~

In 2006 London, Rose, Jackie and Mickey were sat in a completely ordinary chip shop, Mickey and Jackie on one side of the table, Rose on the other, gazing out of the window, completely tuning out the conversation.

"And it's gone upmarket, this place." Jackie rambled, "They're doing little tubs of coleslaw now It's not very nice. Tastes a bit sorta clinical."

"Have ya tried that new pizza place on Minto Road?" Mickey asked, shovelling chips into his mouth.

"What's it selling?"

"Pizza."

"Oh, that's nice. Do they deliver?"

"Yeah."

Jackie finally noticed Rose's disinterest; "Oh, Rose, have something to eat..."

Rose finally spoke up, her voice trembling and her eyes not leaving the window; "Two hundred thousand years in the future, they're dying and there's nothing I can do."

"Well, like ya said, 200,000 years, it's way off." Jackie shrugged

Rose finally looked at them. "But it's not! It's now! That fight is happening right now, and they're fighting for us! For the whole planet, and I'm just sitting here eating chips!"

"Listen to me." Jackie said seriously, "God knows I've hated that man, but right now, I love him, and that girl of his too, and d'ya know why? Because they did the right thing. They sent you back to me." And she went back to her food, considering the matter closed.

"But what do I do every day, mum?" a desperate Rose ground out, "What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it?"

"That's what the rest of us do." Mickey said coldly

"But I can't!" Rose burst out

"Why, cos' ya better than us?" Mickey shot back

"No, I didn't mean that!" Rose wailed in frustration, then took a calming breath. "But it was... it was a better life. And I, I don't mean all the travelling and... seeing aliens and spaceships and things, that don't matter. The Doctor and Gazelle showed me a better way of living ya life. You know, they showed you too." she said to Mickey "That ya don't just give up. Ya don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else runs away, and I just can't..." She broke off, unable to carry on. She kicked the table in frustration and stormed out of the shop in despair.

~8~

On the observation deck of floor 56 of the Game Station, Jack had stationed Lynda on the at a computer terminal. "Right, Lynda, you are my eyes and ears." he told her, "When the Daleks get in, you can follow it on that screen and report it to me."

"Understood." Lynda nodded

"They'll detect you, but the door's made of hydra combination. Should keep 'em out."

"Should?"

"It's the best I can do." Jack told her, then spoke into his Vortex Manipulator; "How long till the fleet arrives?"

"They've accelerated." Davitch answered

Jack and Lynda looked out of the window and sure enough, the Dalek fleet came into view, surrounding the station and Earth. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen, we are war!" Jack said and hurried off to take up his position.

~8~

Hatches opened on the ships and half-a-million Daleks glided out in rows upon rows, some heading for the station, while the rest headed for the unsuspecting Earth below, ready to bring death and destruction on an unimaginable scale.

~8~

In 2006, Rose was sat staring into space on a bench on a playground near the Powell Estate. Mickey was standing over her. "Ya can't keep thinking about the Doctor and Gazelle." he told her

"But 'ow do I forget 'em?" Rose countered

"You've gotta start living ya own life. Ya know, a proper life, like the kind they've never had. The sorta life you could have with me."

But Rose's attention had already wandered. She had noticed the words 'Bad Wolf' written in huge letters on the pavement in spray paint. Rose stood up to examine the words closely, then she noticed 'Bad Wolf' graffiti on the playground walls too. "Over here. It's over here as well!" she frowned.

"That's been there for years." Mickey called after her, "It's just a phrase, it's just words."

"I thought it was a warning... maybe it's the opposite." Rose mused, "Maybe it's a message. The same words written down now and 200,000 years in the future. It's a link between me and the Doctor and Gazelle. Bad Wolf here... Bad Wolf there!"

"Yeah, but if it's a message, what's it saying?" Mickey asked

"It's telling me I can get back!" Rose called back, running off, "Least I can do is help 'em escape!"

~8~

On the Game Station, the volunteers on floor 499 were readying themselves for the inevitable confrontation with the Daleks.

"Stand ya ground everyone." Jack instructed, "Follow my commands... and good luck."

~8~

On the observation deck of floor 56, Lynda was watching her screen. "You're right!" she said, "They're forcing the airlock on floor 494."

~8~

All over the station, everyone felt a violent shudder, then rows of Daleks glided smoothly across floor 494 in perfect formation.

~8~

In 2006 London, Rose and Mickey had returned to the TARDIS. "All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip." Rose said, "Just... reverse."

"Yeah, but we still can't do it." Mickey pointed out

"The Doctor always said the TARDIS is telepathic." Rose told him, "This thing is alive. It can listen."

"It's not listening now, is it?"

"We need to get inside it. Last time I saw you, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened, and there was this light. Gazelle said it was the heart of the TARDIS. If we can open it, we can make contact. I can tell it what to do!"

"Rose, if ya go back, you're gonna die." Mickey said quietly

"That's a risk I've gotta take." Rose said confidently, "Cos' there's nothing left for me here."

"Nothing?"

"No."

Mickey swallowed hard. It was official, he'd lost Rose forever. All he could do now was swallow his pride and help her. "Ok, if that's what you think..." he said with dignity, "Let's get this thing open."

~8~

On the Game Station, Lynda was monitoring the Dalek's progress on her screen. She watched the red lights that indicated the Daleks moving slowly down a corridor. "Ok, activate internal lasers." she heard Jack instruct some volunteers over the comns. "Slice 'em up."

"Defences 'ave gone offline." Lynda said nervously, "The Daleks 'ave overridden the lot."

~8~

On floor 494, a row of Daleks moved dangerously down the corridor towards a group of volunteers, the floor manager amongst them. They readied their guns and got into position. They opened fire, but the bullets had absolutely no effect on the Daleks, they just melted away before they even touched the armour.

"YOU LIED TO ME!" the floor manager screamed into her communicator, "THE BULLETS DON'T WORK!"

The Daleks returned fire, exterminating the Humans with ease.

~8~

In 2006 London, Mickey had connected a chain between the panel on the TARDIS console and his Mini. He released the handbrake and drove forward, hoping to pull the panel open.

Rose was standing by the console. "Faster!" she called as the slack on the chain tightened.

Mickey slammed his foot hard down on the accelerator, but the wheels just spun, and the panel wouldn't budge. "Come on!" he yelled

"It's not moving!" Rose called

Mickey growled with the effort, the chain becoming more and more taught, but still to no avail. The chain shuddered and snapped. Rose yelped in frustration and kicked the console, then leaned down on it, head down in defeat.

~8~

On the Game Station, Jack had taken up a vantage point on floor 495. "Advance guard have made to 495." Lynda said over the comn.

"Jack, how're we doing?" the Doctor asked

"495 should be good." Jack answered into his Vortex Manipulator, "I like 495."

Three Daleks glided onto floor 495, suddenly alerted. "Identify yourself!" one demanded to something.

It was the Anne-droid. "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" it retorted and fired it's transmat beam in quick succession at the Daleks, sending them back to the ship where they belonged.

Jack had seen this from his vantage point. "Yes!" he cheered, punching the air in triumph.

His joy was short-lived however as another Dalek glided onto the floor. The Anne-droid cocked it's head towards it. "You are the weakest link..." it began, but the Dalek fired at it before it could finish and blew it's head off. "Goodbye" the Anne-droid managed to get out before it's power failed.

Jack had no choice but to flee upstairs.

"Proceed to next level." the Dalek ordered two of it's comrades and they glided forwards.

~8~

Lynda monitored their progress from her post on floor 56. "They've flying up the ventilations shafts!" she warned, the diagram on her screen showing the Daleks doing just that. "No... wait a minute... oh, my God! Why're they doing that? They're going down!"

And indeed, the screen showed a group of Daleks going down to floor zero. All Lynda could do was listen helplessly as the Daleks ruthlessly massacred everyone who was hiding on floor zero. Unable to take any more, she turned the sound off and put a hand to her mouth, fighting back the tears.

She opened communications again. "Floor zero. They killed them all." she sobbed.

~8~

Rose was slumped on the jump seat in the TARDIS, broken, defeated and staring into space.

"It was never gonna work, sweetheart." Jackie counselled, "And the Doctor and what's-her-name knew that. They just wanted you to be safe."

"I can't give up." Rose muttered

"Lock the door, walk away." Jackie advised

"Dad wouldn't give up."

"Well, he's not here, is he?" Jackie countered, "And even if he was, he'd say the same."

"No, he wouldn't." Rose shot back, "He'd tell me to try anything. If I could save my friends' lives... try anything."

"Well, we're never gonna know."

"Well, I know. Cos' I met him. I met dad."

"Don't be ridiculous." Jackie said quietly

"The Doctor and Gazelle took me back in time, and I met dad." Rose insisted

"Don't say that."

"Remember when dad died? There was someone with him. A girl, a blonde girl. She held his hand... You saw her from a distance, mum! You saw her! Think about it! That was me. You saw me!"

"Stop it." Jackie said abruptly, but Rose was on a roll.

"That's how good the Doctor and Gazelle are..."

"Stop it!" Jackie snapped, not wanting to hear this, "Just stop it!" She turned and ran from the TARDIS, leaving Rose sobbing alone.

~8~

"Lynda, what's happening on Earth?" the Doctor asked as he and Gazelle continued to work on the delta wave.

"The fleet's descending." Lynda replied over the comns, "They're bombing whole continents. Europa... Pacifica... the New American Alliance... Australasia's just... gone."

~8~

Jack hurried onto floor 499, where the remaining volunteers were maintaining position behind their barricade. "Floor 499. We're the last defence." he told them, "The bullets should work if you concentrate them on the Daleks' eyestalks. I've got the forcefield at maximum so the Dalek firepower should be at it's weakest." He took up position with the others.

"I'm only here cos' of you." Davitch remarked to Nisha, "I joined the program cos' you were on it."

"Am I supposed to say, when this is all over and if we're still alive, maybe we could go out for a drink?" Nisha replied

"That'd be nice."

"Yeah, well, tough."

Davitch looked at her and she winked, indicating that she was just pulling his leg, and they smiled at each other. Then they released the safety catches on their weapons, ready for the impending battle.

~8~

In 2006 London, Rose and Mickey were leaning against Mickey's car, looking at the TARDIS. "There's gotta be something else we can do." Mickey encouraged

"Mum was right..." a dejected Rose shook her head, "Maybe we should lock the door and just walk away."

"I'm not having that." Mickey said determinedly, "I'm not having you just... just give up now. No way. We just need something stronger than my car..." His attention was caught by something coming down the road. "Something bigger... something like that!"

Rose looked round to see a huge yellow breakdown lorry coming down the road. The lorry stopped by them, and Rose grinned when she saw Jackie hop out of the driver's seat. "Right, you've only got 'til 6:00, so get on with it." Jackie said firmly.

"Mum, where the hell did ya get that from?" Rose asked in amusement

"Rodrigo, he owes me a favour." Jackie answered, "Never mind why, but you were right about ya dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactly what he would've done." She tossed the keys to Mickey. "Now get on with it before I change my mind."

Mickey nodded his thanks and climbed into the lorry's cab while Rose ran back into the TARDIS.

~8~

On floor 499 of the Game Station, Jack and the remaining volunteers were waiting behind their barricade as the Daleks arrived. "Open fire!" Jack ordered, and they fired madly at the pepper pots.

~8~

On floor 500, the Time Lords heard the gunshots as they dashed around, working frantically.

~8~

Back on floor 499, the Daleks continued to advance, unaffected by the bullets. "It's not working!" Davitch called to Jack

"Concentrate your fire!" Jack yelled back, "Eyestalk at 2:00!"

Everyone complied, concentrating their fire at the eyestalk of the nearest Dalek. One bullet got through and disabled the Dalek's eyestalk. "My vison is impaired! I cannot see!" it wailed as it rolled helplessly around.

"We did it!" Nisha cheered, but everyone's joy was short-lived, for then another Dalek exterminated Nisha.

"No! NOOOOO!" Davitch shouted with rage and stood up, firing madly over the top of the barricade, no longer caring about the consequences. He too was exterminated, while Jack carried on firing, roaring with anger.

~8~

On the observation deck of floor 56, Lynda's computer was beeping in warning. "I've got a problem..." she breathed, looking uneasily at the door

"Human female detected." a Dalek's voice sounded from the other side

"They've found me." Lynda trembled

"You'll be alright, Lynda." the Doctor reassured her over the comn "That side of the station's reinforced against meteors."

"Hope so. Ya know what they say about Earth workmanship." Lynda chuckled nervously.

Then, a flame appeared through the door. The Daleks were trying to cut through. There was worse to come.

Something in the corner of Lynda's eye caught her attention and she turned round to see three Daleks hovering into view outside. The dome lights on the head of one of the Daleks flashed four times, indicating four syllables... and it fired.

~8~

On floor 500, the Time Lords heard glass shattering and Lynda screaming. They knew what that meant; the Daleks had killed her. The Time Lords looked at each other in shock, tears in Gazelle's eyes.

Then Jack's voice came over the comn. "Last man standing!" he yelled, "For God's sake, guys, finish that thing and kill them!"

Then the Dalek Emperor appeared on screen. "Finish that thing and kill mankind." it taunted.

"OH, SHUT UP, YA DERANGED SQUID!" Gazelle roared and threw a tool at the screen, which just straight through the hologram. She took a calming breath and went back to work.

~8~

Rose had attached the breakdown lorry's chain to the panel on the TARDIS console and she watched as the chain stretched and stretched. "Keep going!" she shouted to Jackie, who was standing just outside.

"Put ya foot down!" Jackie called to Mickey.

Mickey slammed his foot hard down on the accelerator pedal and the lorry's powerful engine roared.

"Faster!" Rose called again

"Give it some more, Mickey!" Jackie encouraged

The TARDIS panel began to creak. "Keep going!" Rose urged

"Come on, come on!" Jackie hollered

The chain became more and more taught, the metal creaking in protest. Then, success!

The lorry jerked forward as the panel popped open and a blinding white-yellow light poured out. Rose stepped forward to look into the light and it began to flow into her eyes in two golden streams.

Mickey leapt out of the lorry. "Rose! he yelled, rushing towards the TARDIS, but the doors slammed shut before he could reach it.

Both Jackie and Mickey could only watch as the TARDIS dematerialised before their eyes, taking Rose with her.

~8~

On floor 500 of the Game Station, Jack ran backwards down a corridor, shooting vainly at the Daleks advancing on him. "GUYS, YOU'VE GOT 20 SECONDS MAXIMUM!" he yelled into his Vortex Manipulator.

As he reached the end of the corridor, his rifle ran out of ammo, so he tossed it aside and produced a pistol. He fired at the Daleks, but to no avail. The evil pepper pots continued to advance, untouched by the bullets until finally the gun clicked, empty, and Jack was backed up against the wall, unarmed and surrounded by three Daleks. He faced them squarely, defiantly, ready to accept his fate.

"Exterminate!" the lead Dalek bellowed

"I kinda figured that." Jack retorted and opened his arms, ready.

The Dalek fired and Jack slumped down against the wall dead.

~8~

Gazelle quickly soldered the last few wires in position, while the Doctor pulled up a plunger on the device they'd rigged up to trigger the delta wave. "It's ready!" the Doctor cried and looked up as Daleks began to file into the room.

They advanced on the Time Lords, surrounding them as they stood their ground by the plunger.

"You really wanna think about this." the Doctor said, "Cos' if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."

"I am immortal." the Emperor sneered on the screen

"Ya wanna bet?" Gazelle retorted

"I want to see you both become like me." the Emperor shot back, "Hail the Time Lords, the Great Exterminators!"

"I'll do it!" the Doctor snapped, placing his hands on the plunger.

"Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you: coward or killer?"

The Doctor's hands were tense on the plunger. He was shaking, his face screwed up in pain. Then, his hands slipped off. "Coward. Any day." he sighed

"And what are YOU, Time Lady?" the Emperor goaded Gazelle, "Are you a coward or killer?"

"Coward too." Gazelle sighed, bowing her head.

"Mankind will be harvested because of YOUR weaknesses." the Emperor gloated

"And what about us?" the Doctor asked, "Are we becoming two of your angels?"

"You are the heathens. You will both be exterminated."

"Maybe it's time." the Doctor said in defeat.

He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate, while Gazelle stood in front of the plunger and looked the Daleks right in the eyestalks, silently daring them to fire. She was standing in such a position that if they shot her, she'd fall on the plunger and trigger the wave, so the Daleks would wipe themselves out. Of course, all life on Earth would be wiped out too, but that would be an act of mercy compared to what the Daleks would do to Humanity.

Suddenly, the familiar wheezing and groaning of the TARDIS broke the stalemate. "Alert! TARDIS materialising!" a Dalek cried

The Doctor's eyes snapped open, and he and Gazelle spun round in shock to see the box appear at the same spot where she had left.

"You will not escape!" the Emperor roared

The TARDIS' doors flew open to reveal Rose standing there, bathed in blinding white-yellow light. She stepped forward, revealing her eyes glowing the same colour. "What've yer done?!" the Doctor cried, stumbling backwards

"I looked into the TARDIS." Rose answered, her normal working-class London accent replaced by received English. "And the TARDIS looked into me."

"You looked into the Time Vortex!" Gazelle exclaimed in horror, "Rose, no Human's meant to see that!"

"This is the abomination!" the Emperor cried

"Exterminate!" a Dalek cried and fired at Rose, who held up her hand. The bolt froze and reversed back into the Dalek's gun. The Time Lords watched in amazement, then looked intensely at Rose.

"I am the Bad Wolf." she announced, "I create myself. I take the words..." She waved her hand at the Bad Wolf Corporation sign on the wall. "I scatter them in time and space." The letters floated away. "A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, yer've got to stop this. Yer've got to stop this now!" the Doctor urged, "You've got the entire Vortex running through yer head. Yer gonna burn!"

"I want you both safe." Rose answered, "My friends. Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me!" the Emperor snarled, "I am immortal!"

"You are tiny!" Rose retorted, "I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She raised her hand and the Dalek in the centre of the room dissolved into golden particles. "Everything must come to dust... all things." Rose announced, "Everything dies." She looked to the side, and the Daleks lined there were reduced to golden particles too. "The Time War ends."

"I will not die!" the Emperor roared in fear, "I cannot die!" But it could. The entire Dalek fleet was reduced to golden particles, dissolving away into oblivion.

"Rose, you've done it. Now stop!" Gazelle hollered, "Just let go!"

"How can I let of this?" Rose said blissfully, "I bring life..." She held up her hand and, on the screen, the Time Lords saw Jack take a huge intake of breath as his eyes snapped open.

"But this wrong!" the Doctor cried, "You can't control life and death!"

Rose looked at him. "But I can. The sun and the moon... the day and night." Her voice trembled. "But why do they hurt?"

"The power's killing you and it's my fault." Gazelle said sadly, cursing herself for not putting a safeguard on the TARDIS. She should've known that Rose wouldn't just take being sent home lightly and do something rash.

"I can see everything." Rose continued, a tear falling down her cheek, "All that is... all that was... all that ever could be."

"That's we see." the Doctor said abruptly, as if he understood, "All the time. Doesn't it drive yer mad?"

"My head..." Rose whimpered, "It's killing me."

"It'll be alright, Rose." Gazelle said and moved to approach the blonde, but the Doctor stopped her.

"Let me." he said and turned to Rose; "I think you need a doctor."

The Doctor and Rose stepped slowly around to face each other. The Doctor put his hands on Rose's temples and the Time Vortex flowed out of her eyes and into his. Rose blinked, her eyes back to their normal tawny, before they fluttered closed, and she passed out in the Doctor's arms. He carefully passed her to Gazelle then turned to face the TARDIS, his eyes now glowing. He exhaled slowly and the Time Vortex was expelled from his mouth, streaming back through the doors and into the TARDIS console. The panel slammed shut and the doors closed quietly.

The Doctor stepped back, his eyes back to their normal blue. Gazelle approached him, Rose in her arms. "Are you ok, Theta?" she asked cautiously

"No, but I will be." he answered, "Get Rose inside. I'll just get the extrapolator and we'll go. No point in sticking around."

~8~

Groaning and wincing, Jack stood. He staggered forward and noticed the piles of dust on the floor where the Daleks had been. He knelt down and ran his hands though one of the piles in confusion. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the TARDIS' engines groaning to life and rushed off as fast as he could. He arrived in the control room just in time to see the TARDIS fade away, leaving him stranded. He stared after her, hurt and confused.

~8~

Inside the TARDIS, Rose awoke to find herself lying on the console room floor next to the console, where the Doctor and Gazelle were working as usual. "What happened?" Rose asked, feeling very disorientated

"Don't you remember?" Gazelle asked her cautiously

"It's like..." Rose sat up, rubbing her sore head. "There was this singing..."

"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away." the Doctor said cheerily

"I was at home..." Rose began, struggling to remember, "No, I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS, and..."

Unseen by Rose, the Doctor glanced down at his hand. The veins shimmered with a golden light for a few seconds, and then it was gone. Gazelle saw it and knew exactly what was coming now.

"I can't remember anything else..." Rose frowned

The Doctor turned to her. "Rose Tyler." He gave a small laugh. "We were gonna yer to so many places. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place, they've got dogs with no noses." He and Gazelle both laughed at that, while Rose giggled, half rolling her eyes. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!"

"Then, why can't we go?" Rose asked

"Maybe yer will, and maybe I will. But not like this." the Doctor replied, his expression growing sombre.

"You're not making sense." Rose said, getting to her feet.

"I might never make sense again." the Doctor retorted lightly, "I might have two heads. Or no head!" He laughed at that. "Imagine me with no head! And don't say that's an improvement." he said to Gazelle.

"I wasn't gonna." she retorted

The Doctor turned back to Rose and became serious again; "But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what yer gonna end up with..." He suddenly jolted backwards with a burst of golden light and clutched his stomach as if he'd been punched.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled, rushing forward, but Gazelle held a hand out to stop her

"No, Rose, you have to stay back." she warned

"Tell me what's going on." Rose said nervously

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and no one's meant to do that." the Doctor told her, trying to keep his tone light despite being in pain, "Every cell in my body's dying."

"Can't you do something?!" a horrified Rose gasped

"Yeah, there is. He's about to do it now." Gazelle told her, "Ya see, us Time Lords have a little trick, a way of cheating death, except..."

"It means I'm gonna change." the Doctor took over, "And I'm not gonna see either of yer again, Not like this. Not with this daft old face." He gave a small laugh, not wanting to scare Rose. "And before I go..."

"Don't say that!" Rose protested, upset.

"Rose..." the Doctor cut her off, and she backed down, listening. "Before I go, I just wanna tell yer, you were fantastic." He smiled at her proudly. "Absolutely fantastic." He turned to Gazelle. "Oh, Gazelle, you've been by my side these past 50 years, the light to my darkness, my rock, you've pulled me back when I'm the wrong. Thank you." he told her, "Thank you for being there for me. I'm so glad I met you." And he promptly kissed the Time Lady on the forehead.

"Me too." Gazelle smiled, blushing slightly, then she moved to stand by Rose.

"And d'yer know something else?" the Doctor called, "I was fantastic too." And he gave both woman that cheeky grin of his for one last time, before he suddenly threw his head back and his arms out and orange energy exploded from his skin, blasting out of the neck his jumper, the sleeves of his jacket and the bottoms of his trousers.

Gazelle pulled Rose behind a Y-beam for safety, both of them shielding their eyes from the intense glare of the energy. They both watched as the energy died away to reveal a different man standing in the Doctor's place and wearing his clothes. Gone was the familiar big-eared Northerner and in his place was a tall, thin man in his early thirties with spiky brown hair and brown eyes.

The man looked surprised for a moment, then turned to look at the women. "Hello!" he said, his accent a London one like Rose's, "Ok, ooh... new teeth. That's weird. So, where were we? Oh, that's right, Barcelona!"

Rose just stared at him with undisguised shock while Gazelle studied him calmly, completely unfazed. The man grinned at them both, looking happy as could be.

Chapter Text

The man turned to the console and started typing in commands. "6PM, Tuesday, October 5006... On our way to Barcelona." he muttered to himself then turned to face the women.

Rose was staring at the man in shock, while Gazelle seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened.

"Now then... what do I look like?" the man asked. Gazelle opened her mouth to answer, but the man cut her off. "No, no no, no no no no no no no. No. Don't tell me. Let's see..." He examined himself. "Two legs, two arms, two hands... slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle." he observed as he rotated his wrist, then ran his hand through his hair. "Hair! I'm not bald! Oh, oh, big hair. Sideburns, I've got sideburns! Or really bad skin."

"Don't worry, they're sideburns." Gazelle assured him, joining him by the console.

The man then noticed just how baggy the Doctor's clothes were on him. "Little bit thinner..." he observed, patting his stomach, "Gimme time, I'll get used to it." Then he shifted slightly. "I... have got... a mole. I can feel it. Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole."

"Could be worse." Gazelle remarked, "My brother's second body had one on his face."

"That's alright, love the mole." the man grinned, "Go on then, tell me, what d'ya think?"

"Not bad." Gazelle nodded her approval, "Ya might wanna get changed though, those clothes don't suit ya anymore."

The man turned to Rose, who hadn't moved from her spot by the Y-beams. "What do you think?" he asked her

"Who are you?" Rose asked quietly

"I'm the Doctor." he answered as if it was obvious.

Rose shook her head. "No... where is he? Where's the Doctor? What've you done to him?!"

"You saw me, I... I changed... right in front of you." the man frowned, confused at Rose's behaviour.

"I saw him sort of explode, an' then you replaced him, like a... a teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something."

"Listen, Rose..." Gazelle began, but the Human ignored her and advanced on the man.

"Ya not fooling me." she burst out, "I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes... Gelth... Slitheen..." She gasped. "Oh, my God, are you a Slitheen?!" she accused

"I'm not a Slitheen." the man replied flatly

"Send him back." Rose demanded, not convinced in the slightest. "I'm warning you; send the Doctor back right now!"

"Rose, this is the Doctor." Gazelle told her calmly, "He's regenerated. It's something we Time Lords do when we're dying. Every single cell in our bodies change, but we're still the same person we were before. I've done it too."

But Rose still wasn't convinced. "But he can't be." she shook her head.

"Then how can I remember this?" the man asked, stepping forward, "Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar, surrounded by shop window dummies... ooh... such a long time ago." He took Rose's hand, reliving the moment. "I took your hand... I said one word, just one word. I said 'run'." he said sincerely.

Rose stared. "Doctor." she breathed

"Hello." the Doctor grinned, and ran to the console. "And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe, running, running..." He turned to Gazelle. "And dancing. Remember that?"

"How could I forget?" the Time Lady smiled, then the Doctor took her hand and pulled her into a twirl. They both broke apart laughing. "And that time you two had to hop for it." Gazelle reminded.

"Oh, yeah, hopping for our lives." the Doctor laughed, hopping on the spot. "Yeah, all that hopping?" he asked Rose, who was just standing there sadly. "Remember hopping for our lives?" the Doctor tried, but to no avail, "Yeah? Hop? With the... no?" he gave up.

"Can ya change back?" Rose asked

"D'ya want me to?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Can you?"

"No." the Doctor answered seriously, "D'ya want to leave?"

"D'ya want me to leave?" Rose asked back

"No." Gazelle answered this time, "We want to stay, but if ya don't wanna be here anymore, then we can take ya home if ya want."

Rose was silent, so the Doctor turned to the console. "Cancel Barcelona." he said, resetting the coordinates, "Change to... London, the Powell Estate."

"Any particular date?" Gazelle asked, helping him.

"Er... let's say the 24th of December." the Doctor replied, glancing at Rose, "Consider it a Christmas present."

"Right, 24th of December 2006 it is." Gazelle said, imputing that date into the TARDIS' controls, then the Doctor pulled a lever and the box changed course.

"I'm going home?" Rose asked, crestfallen.

"Up to you." the Doctor replied

"Like I said, we'd rather you stayed with us." Gazelle added, "But if home's what ya want..."

"It's all waiting." the Doctor continued, "Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast... no, Christmas, turkey! Although... having met ya mother... nutloaf would be more appropriate."

"Still rude, then." Gazelle remarked dryly

"Oh, yes." the Doctor grinned, then he noticed that a small smile had slipped onto Rose's face. "Was that a smile?" he asked her

"No." Rose muttered, the smile quickly dropping.

"That was a smile..." the Doctor insisted

"No it wasn't."

"You smiled."

"No I didn't."

"Oh, come on." the Doctor groaned, "All I did was change, I didn't..." He suddenly gagged, while the TARDIS jerked.

Gazelle quickly rushed over to him. "What is it?" she asked him.

All the Doctor could say was "Uh-oh." before gagging again.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, rushing over as the Doctor opened his mouth and a golden swirl of energy drifted out of it. "What's that?" she asked him

"Oh... the change is going a bit wrong, that's all." the Doctor waved her off before dropping to his knees and clutching his stomach in pain.

"Look... maybe we should go back." Rose suggested, "Let's go and find Captain Jack, maybe he can help."

"Gah, he's busy." the Doctor waved her off again

"Earth took a pasting from the Daleks." Gazelle explained to Rose as she helped the Doctor to stand, "Jack stayed to help rebuild." Of course, that wasn't true. The Time Lords had left Jack behind on the Game Station for quite a different reason, but now wasn't the time for explanations.

"Haven't used this one for years." the Doctor muttered, eyeing one of the levers on the console.

"Don't you dare!" Gazelle warned, but the Doctor ignored her and pulled the lever anyway, causing the TARDIS to lurch violently.

"What're ya doing?!" Rose demanded, grabbing onto the console to stop herself falling over.

"Putting on a bit of speed!" the Doctor cheered, recklessly messing with the controls, "That's it! Oh, my beautiful ship!" Gazelle tried to undo his actions, but he was too fast. No sooner had she cancelled out what he'd pressed, he'd just press it again. "Come on, faster! That a girl!" he cheered, "Faster! Wanna break the time limit?!"

"No, we don't, so pack it in!" Gazelle ordered him, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Ah, don't be so dull!" the Doctor scoffed manically, "Let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that Vortex!" Then he became serious; "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself. Ah, my head." He turned manic again; "Faster! Let's open those engines!"

A rather ominous-sounding bell began to toll. "What's that?" Rose asked, alarmed.

"Cloister bell." Gazelle replied, urgently trying to undo the Doctor's manic flying.

"We're gonna crash land!" the Doctor laughed

"Well then, do something!" Rose hollered

"I'm trying!" Gazelle shot back

"Too late, outta control!" the Doctor cackled, "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!"

"Ya gonna kill us!" Rose screamed

"Hold on tight, here we go! Christmas Eve...!" the Doctor grinned.

"Ok, I've managed to even us out." Gazelle said, "Hang on, this is gonna be rough!"

~8~

On Christmas Eve 2006, Jackie Tyler finished hanging up baubles on the Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the living room of the Tyler flat. She then picked up two presents, ready to put them under the tree, when the label of one of them caught her eye. She sat down slowly, holding the present. The label said, 'To Rose. Merry Christmas. Lots of love, Mum XXXX'. Jackie sighed. It had been three months since Rose had left to help the Doctor and Gazelle, and since then, not a single word from her.

~8~

Round the corner from the Powell Estate, Mickey was busy working at a garage. Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody was blaring out of the radio. Mickey suddenly paused in his work, listening intently. "Hey, turn that down." he called to his colleagues, "Hey, Stevo, turn that off! Turn it off!"

The radio was turned off, and Mickey heard the distinctive sound of the TARDIS' engines. He promptly ran off.

~8~

In the Tyler flat, Jackie was hanging some Christmas cards on a string when she heard the distinctive sound too. "Rose!" she exclaimed and ran out of the flat.

Jackie ran out onto the plaza just as Mickey came sprinting round the corner. "Jackie, it's the TARDIS!" he exclaimed

"I know! I know, I head it." Jackie answered rapidly, "She's alive, Mickey! I said so, didn't I? She's alive!"

"Shush! Shut up a minute!" Mickey urged and they both looked frantically around.

"Well, where is it then?" Jackie wandered

Suddenly, the TARDIS appeared out of thin air, about 20 feet their heads. The box crashed against buildings either side as she fell towards the ground. Jackie and Mickey were forced to hit the deck as the TARDIS flew above them, ricocheted off a post van and finally came to a stop by some bins.

Inside the box, the trio recovered from the rough landing. "Made it." Gazelle sighed in relief, running a hand through her hair, "Everyone ok?"

"Yeah." Rose answered, picking herself up.

"Doctor?" Gazelle asked, but received no reply for the Doctor had dashed to the doors.

He threw them open and peered out. "Here we are, then" he said, "London, Earth, the Solar System. We did it!" He stumbled out of the TARDIS, gazing up at the flats, then he noticed Jackie and Mickey staring at him. "Jackie! Mickey! Blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on." He stumbled backwards a few steps just as Gazelle stepped out of the TARDIS. "Wait there. What was I gonna say? There was something I 'ad to tell you. Something important, what was it? No, hold on, no, hold on..." He put his hands on the two surprised Humans' shoulders, apparently thinking hard. "Hold on, shh, shh, shh. Oh!" he perked up suddenly, "I know! Merry Christmas!"

And then he collapsed, Gazelle managing to catch him before he hit the ground. Rose stepped out of the TARDIS at that moment. "What happened? Is he alright?" she asked

"I dunno, he just keeled over." Mickey replied, "But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"This is the Doctor, right here." Gazelle told them, gesturing to the unconscious man in her arms.

"What d'ya mean, 'this is the Doctor'?" Jackie questioned, "Doctor who?"

"I'll explain later." Gazelle replied, "Get him inside, please. I'll just lock up the TARDIS."

Jackie and Mickey took the unconscious Doctor from her and began to carry him towards the flats, Rose following them while Gazelle locked up the TARDIS.

~8~

The Doctor was soon tucked up in bed in the Tyler's spare bedroom with Gazelle and Rose sitting by him. They'd managed to get him out of his previous body's clothes and into a pair of pyjamas.

"So, how many times has the Doctor changed like this?" Rose asked

"This is his tenth body." Gazelle replied. This technically wasn't true, but that was another story, one which wouldn't be told until it was absolutely necessary.

"And, have you changed too?" Rose asked

"Yeah. This is my fourth body." Gazelle answered her

"So, how come the Doctor's on 'is tenth an' you're only on ya fourth?" Rose questioned

"The Doctor's been travelling a lot longer than I have. I didn't start travelling until I met him at the end of the Time War."

"So what's wrong with him then?"

"Post-regenerative coma, I believe. It happened to me after I regenerated into this body. I slept for the whole 15 hours of the cycle."

"So is the Doctor gonna be alright after he's slept?"

"I hope so." Gazelle said, "Trouble is, he had to regenerate because he absorbed the Time Vortex. That's probably why he went into this coma. Absorbing the Vortex put his body through a lot of trauma."

Just then, Jackie entered the room holding a stethoscope. "Here we go." she said, handing it to Gazelle, "Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, medical student. And she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to hospital."

"We can't. They'd lock him up." Rose told her, "They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the Human race."

Jackie looked somewhat flabbergasted at Rose's ramble. Gazelle just smiled at it and put the stethoscope in her ears and placed it on one side of the Doctor's chest. She heard one of his hearts beating steadily, then placed the scope on the other side and heard the other heart. "Good, both working." she noted, removing the stethoscope.

"What d'ya mean, 'both'?" Jackie questioned

"Well, they've got two hearts." Rose answered

"Oh, don't be stupid." Jackie scoffed

"We have." Gazelle told her, "Check for yourself." She offered Jackie the stethoscope, who placed it in her ears and ran it over Gazelle chest. Sure enough, two heartbeats.

"Anything else you've got two of?" a bemused Jackie asked, removing the scope and handing it back.

"Leave 'em alone." Rose grunted, leaving the room. Jackie peered at the Doctor before following her daughter.

Gazelle was left alone with the comatose Doctor. "Rest up, Theta." she said gently, running her hand through his hair. "Ya should've just let me pull the Vortex from Rose." she sighed regretfully. The Doctor opened his mouth suddenly. Gazelle felt her hopes rise, but all that happened was another wisp of energy escaped from his mouth. The Time Lady's hearts sank. "Hope no one picks that up." she muttered to herself as the energy drifted out of the window. She knew that if any passing aliens detected that energy, it could mean big trouble for Earth.

~8~

In the kitchen, Rose was rifling through the fridge for a snack. "How can he go changing his face?" Jackie asked. Rose didn't answer, she just picked up a pork pie and shut the fridge door. "Is that a different face or is he a different person?" Jackie continued

"How should I know?" a frustrated Rose retorted, "Ask Gazelle. She seems to know everything about it." She took a calming breath. "Thing is... I thought I knew him, mum. And then he goes and does this. I keep forgetting they're not Human." She decided to change the subject. "The big question is... where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?"

"Howard's been staying over." Jackie replied

"What, Howard from the market? How long's that been going on?"

"A month or so. First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought 'that's a bit odd'. Next thing ya know, there's a bag of oranges..."

Rose's attention was suddenly caught by a familiar voice coming from the telly in the living room. "Is that Harriet Jones?" she asked, going into the living room.

"Oh, never mind me..." Jackie grumbled, following her daughter.

"Why's she on telly?" Rose asked

"She's Prime Minister now." Jackie explained, "I'm 18 quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's golden age. I keep on saying 'my Rose 'as met her.'"

"Did more than that." Rose grinned, "Stopped World War three with her. Harriet Jones..." They settled down to watch the news.

"Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One space probe a waste of money?" a journalist asked on the telly.

"Now, that's where you're wrong." Harriet answered, "I completely disagree if you don't mind. The Guinevere One space probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there against the stars." she said proudly

The footage changed to show a man, who according to the news was Guinevere One's project manager, Daniel Llewellyn. "This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle."

The footage then showed a computerised image of a probe orbiting Mars. "The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make it's final descent." a newsreader explained, "Photographs of the Martian surface should be received by midnight tonight."

Just then, Mickey came in, having been down the shop. "Here ya are." he said, handing Gazelle a sandwich, "How's the Doctor?"

"No change." the Time Lady replied, "What about you? How have you and Jackie been?"

"We've been alright." Mickey answered, appreciating the consideration, "I was thinking of going out and doing some last-minute Christmas shopping."

"Good idea." Gazelle nodded, "You should take Rose with ya. Take her mind off things."

~8~

So, that evening, Rose and Mickey were walking along a street in the city centre that was crowded with Christmas shoppers. "What d'ya need? 20 quid?" Mickey asked Rose.

"D'ya mind?" I'll pay ya back." she replied, taking the £20 note he'd held out.

"Call it a Christmas present." Mickey laughed

"God, I'm all out of sync." Rose remarked, "Ya forget about Christmas and things in the TARDIS. They don't exist. Ya get sorta... timeless."

"Oh, yeah, that's fascinating, cos' I love 'earing stories about the TARDIS." Mickey said dryly, "Ooh, go on, Rose, tell us another one, cos' I swear I could listen to it all day. TARDIS this, TARDIS that..."

"Shut up!" Rose laughed

"Ooh, an' one time, the TARDIS landed in a biiiig yellow garden, full of balloons." Mickey continued

"I'm not like that."

"Oh, you so are."

"Hmm, must drive ya mad. Surprised ya don't give up on me."

"Oh, that's the thing, isn't it? You can rely on me. I don't go changing my face."

"Yeah." Rose muttered, her thoughts going back to the comatose Doctor, "What if he's dying?"

"Ok." Mickey huffed and stopped

"Sorry!"

"Gazelle's looking after him, so just let it be Christmas." Mickey pleaded, taking Rose's hands, "Can ya do that? Just for a bit. You an' me, an' Christmas. No Doctor, no Gazelle, no... no bog monsters... no life an' death."

"Ok." Rose replied

"Promise?"

"Yes!"

"Right! What're ya gonna get for ya mum?" Mickey asked as they started walking again. Rose looked behind her, distracted as Mickey stared talking again; "I'm round there all the time now, ya know. She does my dinner on a Sunday... talks about you all afternoon, yap yap yap yap..."

Rose wasn't really listening. She was looking at a brass band that were all dressed as Father Christmas and playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. She gazed at them for a long moment. Something about their faces seemed off, they looked more like metal masks. Then, the band lowered their instruments and began holding them like weapons.

Suddenly, a jet of flame shot out of the trumpet, revealing it to be a flamethrower, while the other instruments fired bullets. People screamed and ran for cover while Rose and Mickey took refuge behind a market stall as the Father Christmases blasted around, causing a lot of commotion.

"It's us!" Rose realised, "They're after us!"

The Father Christmases blasted the stall Rose and Mickey were hiding behind, so they ran off, avoiding the gunfire. One of the band rather foolishly fired at the giant Christmas tree, causing it to fall on top of it, buying the two Humans time to escape.

"What's going on? What've we done? Why're they after us?" Mickey asked frantically as they ran down the street.

"Taxi!" Rose yelled to a passing black cab, which stopped and they scrambled in. "They're after the Doctor." she told Mickey.

"I can't even go shopping with you! We get attacked by a brass band!" Mickey gasped. "Who're ya phoning?" he asked as Rose pulled out her mobile.

"My mum." she replied, putting the phone to her ear.

~8~

At the Tyler flat, Jackie was talking for England on the phone to her friend Bev while Gazelle was having a nap in the spare room. "She turns up, no warning." Jackie rambled, "I've got nothing in. I said, 'Rose, if ya want a Christmas dinner of meat paste, then so be it.'"

~8~

"Get off the phone!" Rose grumbled as she heard the engaged tone on her mobile.

"What were... those Santa things?" Mickey asked

"I dunno, but think about it, they were after us. What's important us? Well, nothing, except the one thing we've got tucked up in bed with another watching him. The Doctor and Gazelle."

~8~

In the flat, Jackie continued to jabber away on the phone, placing two cups of tea beside the sleeping Time Lords. She had to admit, was cute how Gazelle had fallen asleep holding the Doctor's hands. Although Jackie had distrusted the Doctor for months, she hadn't given much thought to Gazelle. Mickey had said that he had no quarrel with her, as she wasn't as rude and inconsiderate as the Doctor. And before her nap, Gazelle had politely explained what had happened on the Game Station. After Jackie left the room, the Doctor opened his mouth and let out another wisp of energy.

~8~

The taxi pulled up at the Powell Estate and Rose and Mickey jumped out and ran for the flats. They burst into the Tyler flat to see Jackie still yapping away on the phone. "Get off the phone!" Rose yelled

"It's only Bev. She says hello." Jackie rolled her eyes

Rose took the phone. "Bev? Yeah, look, it'll have to wait." She hung up and turned back to her mother. "Right, it's not safe, we've gotta get out. Where can we go?"

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up." Mickey suggested

"That's only two streets away." Rose dismissed and turned to Jackie, "What about Mo, where's she living now?"

"I dunno, Peak District." Jackie replied

"Oh, we'll go to Cousin Mo's, then." Rose decided

"It's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?"

"Mum..." an exasperated Rose began

"Jackie, why's that tree changed?" Gazelle's voice spoke up. She'd been woken up by Rose's frantic entrance and gone to see what the commotion was about. Her attention was caught by the Christmas tree. Before she'd gone for her nap, the tree had been silver, now it was green.

"That's a new tree." Rose agreed, "Where'd ya get it?"

"Well, I fought it was you!" Jackie replied

"How can it be me?"

"Well, you went shopping, there was a ring at the door, and there it was."

"No, that wasn't me." Rose said uneasily

"Then who was it?" Jackie asked

"Ya should've woken me." Gazelle said, "I could've checked it."

"Well, I didn't wanna disturb ya." Jackie answered weakly

They all stared at the tree as it lit up on it's own accord. "You're kidding me." Rose breathed

Then, the tree began to spin, slowly at first, then very fast, playing Jingle Bells in the process.

"Get back, now!" Gazelle warned, pulling Mickey back while Rose did the same to Jackie. Still spinning, the tree began to move towards them, it's sharp branches reducing the coffee table to matchwood within seconds. "Go, get out, all of you, now!" Gazelle urged, shooing Rose and Jackie out of the room, "You too, Mickey." But Mickey didn't move, he grabbed a chair and held it out in front of him, standing his ground.

Jackie ran to the front door, but Rose ran into the spare room. "We've gotta save the Doctor!" she cried

"What're ya doing?!" Jackie hissed

"We can't just leave him!" Rose shot back

"Mickey, come on, there's nothing you can do!" Gazelle hollered as the tree began to make short work of Mickey's chair

"Leave it! Get out!" Jackie agreed

Mickey saw sense and Gazelle hustled him out of the living room, then they both ran to join Rose in the spare room.

"No, leave him!" Jackie screeched, "Just leave him!"

"In here, now!" Gazelle called to her, and Jackie ran into the room, just as the tree began to spin through the hallway, shattering the glass partition in the process.

Mickey slammed the door shut, then he and Jackie pulled a wardrobe in front of it to try and block it.

"Doctor, wake up!" Rose cried, shaking the sleeping Doctor.

"Rose, no, leave him!" Gazelle warned, pulling out her sonic screwdriver and fiddling with it to find the right setting.

"Can't you do something?" Rose shot back

"Working on it." the Time Lady answered just as the wardrobe began to shake. "Get back!" she warned Jackie and Mickey, who both jumped back as the tree smashed through the wardrobe.

"I'm gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie whimpered as she cowered in the corner.

The tree continued to advance on them. Gazelle aimed her sonic screwdriver at the tree and clicked it on, causing the tree to explode. "Everyone ok?" she asked the shaken Humans.

"Yeah." they all answered

Gazelle inspected the remains of the tree closely. "That was remote controlled." she observed, "But..."

"But who's controlling it?" a voice from behind her said and she spun round to see the Doctor wide awake and beginning to get out of bed.

"Doctor, no. You should stay in bed." Gazelle warned, but the Doctor took no notice. He threw on a dressing gown and strode grimly out onto the balcony, the others following him.

Down below on the ground stood the three killer Father Christmases. "That's them." Mickey said, "What are they?"

The Doctor didn't answer, he just took Gazelle's sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the band in a threatening way. They backed away, standing closer to each other. Then, they teleported themselves away.

"They've just gone!" Mickey breathed, "What kinda rubbish are they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's gonna scare 'em off."

"Pilot fish." the Doctor said darkly, handing Gazelle her sonic back.

"What?" Rose asked

"They were just pilot fish." the Doctor said, before suddenly coughing and throwing himself back against the wall, Gazelle managing to catch him before he could bang his head on the windowsill.

"What's wrong?!" Rose asked worriedly

"He woke up too soon." Gazelle realised. "You're still brimming with regeneration energy." she said to the Doctor, who opened his mouth and another wisp of energy wafted out.

"The pilot fish could smell it." the Doctor panted, "A million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, an' they carry me off. They could run their batteries off me for a couple of years..." He lurched forward, groaning in pain. "Ah, my head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need..."

"What d'ya need?" Jackie asked frantically

"I need..."

"Say it, tell me, tell me..."

"I need..."

"Painkillers?"

"I need..."

"D'ya need aspirin?"

"I..."

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I dunno, pepto-bismol?"

"I need..."

"Liquid paraffin? Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

"I need..."

"Is it food?" Jackie continued hysterically, "Something simple? Uh... a bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up." the Doctor managed to get out.

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Jackie rolled her eyes

The Doctor lurched forward again, leaning against the opposite wall. "We haven't got much time." he panted, "If there's pilot fish, then..." He reached into his dressing gown pocket and pulled out an apple. "Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" he asked, momentarily forgetting the situation.

"Oh, that's Howard, sorry." Jackie replied

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometime."

"Doctor." Gazelle cut in urgently, bringing them back on topic.

The Doctor groaned again and doubled over. "Brain... collapsing." he managed to get out, "But the pilot fish..." He grabbed onto Gazelle and leaned closer to her. "The pilot fish mean mean that something... something..."

"Something is what?" she urged

"Something is coming." the Doctor gasped out before he collapsed into unconsciousness again.

~8~

They soon had the Doctor back in bed. Rose was dabbing his forehead with a flannel, while Gazelle checked his heartrates again. "Only one heart beating now." she sighed, "Why couldn't he have listened to me? I was afraid this would happen."

Mickey entered the flat, his laptop tucked under his arm. He and Rose shared a concerned look, then he went into the living room. "Jackie, I'm using the phone line." he said as he set his laptop up, "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, keep a count of it." Jackie replied, cleaning up some of the mess the Christmas tree had made. "It's midnight." she realised, "Christmas day." Rose came in and plopped down on the settee. "Any change?" Jackie asked her.

"He's worse." Rose answered, "Gazelle said there's just one heart beating."

Jackie sighed and sat down in an armchair to watch the news on the telly, which was reporting on Guinevere One. "Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe." the newsreader announced, "They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes."

The footage changed to show Daniel Llewellyn at a press conference; "Yes, we are. We're, we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."

"But is it true you completely lost contact earlier tonight?" a reporter asked

"Yes, we had a bit of a scare." Llewellyn admitted, "Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it... it was just a blip. Only disappeared for a few seconds. She's fine now, absolutely fine. We... we're getting the first pictures transmitted any minute now. I'd better get back to it thanks."

"Here we go, pilot fish." Mickey called, and Rose came over to join him. "They're scavengers, like he said. Harmless, they're tiny, but the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

"D'ya mean like sharks?" Rose asked

"Great big sharks." Mickey confirmed, "So what the Doctor means is, we had them... now we get that." His screen showed an animation of a shark snapping viciously

"Something is coming..." Rose mused "How close?"

"There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their daddy." Mickey replied

"So it's close?"

"Funny sort of rocks." Jackie said, drawing their attention to the telly, which was showing a distorted image

"Those aren't rocks." Gazelle's voice said from behind them, and they turned to see her standing in the doorway before turning back to the telly.

The image steadily became clearer. "...coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning." the newsreader announced.

The image was thrown into clarity, revealing an alien with a skull-like face which roared viciously at the camera, causing the three Humans to jump back.

~8~

The news channels were soon talking about this revelation. "The face of an alien life form was transmitted live tonight on BBC1." a BBC newsreader said

"On the 25th of December, the Human race has been shown absolute proof that alien life exists." Trinity Wells said on AMTV

"These remarkable images have been relayed right across the world." the newsreader on an Indian news channel finished.

Gazelle stopped flicking through the news channels and turned to Mickey. "Can you get us into the military?" she asked, "There's something coming, and we need to know what and where it is."

"Sure, leave it to me." Mickey nodded and set to work.

Gazelle went to check up on the Doctor. "Please come back to us soon, Theta." she said softly, stroking his face, "Aliens are coming and we don't know what their intentions are. We need you."

"I'm in." Mickey called after a few minutes, and Gazelle hurried back into the living room. "Rose, take a look. I've got access to the military." Rose got off the settee and rushed over to join them. "They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what?" Rose wandered "The Doctor?"

"Maybe." Gazelle replied thoughtfully, "Think about it: The Doctor's been spewing out regeneration energy and Earth sends out a probe. Those aliens would be interested and would want to see what was happening on this planet."

Just then, the image on the computer changed to a shot of four of the aliens. They all had skull-like heads and vicious red eyes. One of them began talking in their language, which wasn't translated by the TARDIS for some reason; "Gatz tak ka thaa! Ka zu me fedrok, ka zu me Sycorax!"

"Have you seen them before?" Mickey asked Gazelle

"I'm afraid not." she shook her head, "But I think those heads are just helmets."

"Adzeek. Kwadra fi peloodza." the alien continued, "Kwandra fi milzon bor. Zu pedra kayi. Zu bandak. Zu masak jal ban kulja kyyi sykora jak."

"Di-ga-gagh!" all four aliens chanted together.

"I don't know what they're saying." Rose frowned. "How come the TARDIS isn't translating it?" she asked Gazelle.

"The TARDIS is connected to the Doctor." the Time Lady replied, "Because he's out of it, some of the bond isn't working."

"Do you know what they're saying?" Mickey asked her

"No, but I can work it out." Gazelle replied and went back to the Doctor's room where Jackie was watching over him. "You should get some sleep, Jackie." Gazelle told her, "I'll keep an eye on him." So Jackie went off to bed while Gazelle sat down beside the Doctor and took out a pen and notepad and began trying to work out what the aliens had said.

~8~

About an hour later, Gazelle called Rose and Mickey in. "I've worked out." she told them, "These aliens are called the Sycorax. They said, 'People, you belong to us. To the Sycorax. We own you. We now possess your land, your minerals, your precious stones. You will surrender or they will die. Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax rock.'"

"Sycorax rock?" Mickey raised a brow

"That's what they said." Gazelle answered, "I mean, I know I'm not as fluent in languages as the Doctor, but that's definitely what the Sycorax said."

"They will die." Rose frowned, "Who's they?"

"I don't know, but it's the right personal pronoun, it's they."

"So, what're we gonna do?" Rose asked

"We hope." Gazelle replied, "Mickey, how long 'til that ship gets here?"

Mickey ran back to check his computer then ran back. "About five hours." he said

"So, let's hope the Doctor wakes up in five hours." Gazelle sighed

"An' what if he doesn't?" Rose asked

"Then God help us all." Gazelle replied grimly.

~8~

The hours ticked away. Rose had gone to bed, while Gazelle sat by the Doctor's bedside keeping vigil and desperately trying to think of a plan, but she just didn't know what to do. She was out of her depth this time. "Please come back to us." she sighed to the comatose Doctor, "I don't know what to do. Earth needs you, I need you! I can't do this without your help."

"You love him, don't you?" Mickey said, leaning against the doorframe watching her.

Gazelle decided there was no point in denying it anymore. "Yes, I do." she replied earnestly, "He saved me. The last day of the Time War, I was lying in a barn, dying and cut off from the rest of my platoon. The Doctor found me, did what he had to do to end the war, then he took me into his TARDIS. We regenerated together and we've been travelling together for nearly 51 years." She leaned back in her chair, sighing heavily. "He's a wonderful man, Mickey. I know he's rude and somewhat arrogant, but that's just his way of coping everything he's lost, we've lost. Underneath all that are hearts of gold. He's always willing to help people and planets that are in trouble, even at risk to himself." Her voice started shaking and tears began to fall from her eyes. "Ya right, Mickey. I do love him. I've just never had the courage to tell him."

Mickey came over and hugged her, letting her cry into his shoulder. In that moment, he didn't see a time travelling alien with two hearts, he saw an upset young woman out of her depth and in need of comforting.

~8~

Dawn began to rise over the United Kingdom. Everyone in the Tyler flat were now awake and just waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, they heard a neighbour shouting from outside; "What is wrong with you? Jason? Jason?"

Rose poked her head out of the front door. "Sandra?" she called to the neighbour

"He won't listen." Sandra replied, gesturing to her husband, who was walking the balcony with a blank look on his face and his eyes glazed and unfocused, as if he was in a trance. "There was this sort of... light thing. Jason, stop it!"

Gazelle, Rose and Mickey stepped out of the flat and looked around. Jason wasn't the only person affected. On the ground below there were dozens of people walking in a zombie-like fashion, their frantic loved ones pleading with them to stop.

The entranced people all marched upstairs to the roofs of the estate's high-rise buildings, then positioned themselves on the very edges of the rooftops, their loved ones trying to hold them back. "Jason, I'm talking to you!" Sandra pleaded in vain, "Just stop!"

Gazelle, Rose and Mickey hurried up to the roof of Bucknall House to see the entranced people all just standing still, as if they were waiting.

Gazelle scanned some of them with her sonic. "It's the Sycorax." she realised, "They're controlling them by their blood somehow."

"Their blood?" Rose stared

"All these people are blood group A-positive." Gazelle explained, "The Sycorax must've somehow gotten their hands on some Human A-positive blood and are controlling it." Then she realised something else. "My God! About one third of Earth's population must be A-positive." she breathed in horror, "This is what the Sycorax meant when they said, 'They will die.' These people, they're being used as a ransom."

"What do we do?" Mickey asked

"I don't know." Gazelle answered grimly, "The Doctor would probably think of something, but I'm not him. I haven't seen anything like this before. "

"So there's no one to save us." Rose sighed in defeat, "Not anymore."

~8~

The trio returned dejectedly to the Tyler Flat, where Harriet Jones was making an emergency broadcast on the telly, "Ladies and gentlemen... if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech, I'm afraid that's been cancelled." She turned to someone off-camera. "Did we ask about the royal family?" She received her answer and turned back to the camera. "They're on the roof. But, Ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request: Doctor, if you're out there... we need you. I don't know what to do. But if you can hear me, Doctor... If anyone can find him... the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us."

Rose walked silently to the Doctor's room, hoping that somehow the appeal for help would cause him to wake up, but no luck. The Doctor just lay there, sleeping like a baby. "She's gone." Rose sobbed into her mother's shoulder, "The Doctor's gone. He's left us, mum. He's left us!"

"No, he's not." Gazelle tried to encourage, but it was a weak effort, "He'll be alright, he just needs time." But she knew that time was one thing that they didn't have.

Suddenly, all the windows in the flat shattered, showering the floor with glass, while the whole building shook. "What's happening'?!" Jackie cried

"Sonic wave." Gazelle realised, "It's the Sycorax, they've hit the atmosphere."

They all ran outside and looked up at the sky. A massive, island-shaped spaceship loomed over Central London, blocking out the sun. People could only stare up at it open-mouthed.

"We're out of time." Gazelle said gravely. She knew that there was only one thing she could do now.

~8~

Gazelle led Mickey and the Tylers back to the flat and into the Doctor's bedroom. "Right, Rose, Mickey, we're gonna carry him." she said, throwing the blanket off the Doctor, "Jackie, get ya stuff and some food, we're going."

"Where to?" Mickey asked

"The TARDIS." Gazelle told him, "We're gonna get help."

"Where from?" Rose asked

"The Shadow Proclamation." Gazelle replied, "They're an outer space police. If I tell 'em what's happening here, they'll intervene."

"Is that it?!" Rose asked incredulously

"I don't know what else to do." Gazelle told her, "The Doctor's not gonna wake up anytime soon and I can't stop the Sycorax by myself. We have to get outside help. Now, c'mon, help me!" She heaved the Doctor up and took his shoulders, Rose hurrying over and taking his legs. "Mickey, you get the doors." Gazelle instructed.

The trio carried the Doctor out of the front door. Jackie followed them, struggling with several shopping bags. She dropped one and tried to pick it up again. "Mum, will ya just leaved that stuff and give us a hand?!" Rose shouted.

"It's food!" Jackie shot back, "She need we need f..."

"Just leave it!" Rose snapped

Jackie put some of the bags down and helped them carry the Doctor down the stairs and across the estate to where the TARDIS was. They carried him through the doors and carefully put him down on the floor, then Gazelle went to the console to get the box warmed up.

"So, this Shadow police thing. How're they gonna help deal with these guys?" Mickey asked

"Well, they'll probably send a platoon of Judoon to deal with them." Gazelle replied, fiddling with the controls.

Jackie pulled a thermos out of her bag. "Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." she said

"Oh, the solution to everything." Rose grumbled

"Now, stop ya moaning." Jackie shot back, giving Mickey the thermos, "I'll get the rest of the food."

"Alright, but be quick." Gazelle called as Jackie ran out

"Tea." Mickey remarked, pouring himself some, "Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." He looked at the monitor. "How does this thing work?" he asked Gazelle, "If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered."

"Hang on, I'll just tune it in." Gazelle replied, pressing a few buttons.

~8~

Outside, Jackie came out of Bucknall House carrying two shopping bags. She began to walk towards the TARDIS when the box was suddenly teleported away in a blue flash. "Rose!" Jackie shouted out to thin air.

~8~

Blissfully unaware of this, Gazelle, Rose and Mickey were listening to a bleeping sound coming out of the monitor. "What is that?" Mickey asked, "Is it a distress signal?"

"Fat lot of good that's gonna do." Rose muttered dejectedly

"Are you gonna be a misery all the time?" Mickey rounded on her

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view." Mickey remarked, "Stuck in here with ya mother's cooking."

"Where is Jackie anyway?" Gazelle frowned, "She's been gone longer than she should've been."

"I'd better go and give her a 'and." Rose said, moving to the doors, "It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Mickey called after her

"Why don't ya tell her yourself?" Rose retorted as she began to step outside

"I'm not that brave." Mickey smirked, beginning to drink his tea

"Oh, I dunno. I think you're a brave man, Mickey." Gazelle assured him.

Suddenly, they heard Rose scream from outside. "ROSE!" they both yelled and ran to the doors, Mickey dropping his thermos in the process which landed on the grilling next to the Doctor and tea began to dribble out.

Gazelle and Mickey rushed outside to see that the TARDIS had been transported to the Sycorax ship. The interior of the ship looked like an ancient coliseum-like arena, with thousands of Sycorax lining the rows, while Harriet Jones and a man who Gazelle guessed was her aide were standing in the centre in front of two more Sycorax. Rose was being dragged towards them by another Sycorax. Gazelle managed shut the TARDIS door before a Sycorax grabbed her, while another grabbed Mickey.

~8~

The Doctor was left alone in the TARDIS, still lifeless on the floor. Tea continued to dribble out of the thermos and through the grilling. It dripped onto the machinery, which began to heat it up.

~8~

Gazelle, Rose and Mickey were dragged over to the centre of the area, where the Sycorax leader was standing. He had removed his helmet, revealing a skeletal, red-skinned face made of bone and muscle. He yelled something with glee and the onlookers cheered.

"Rose!" Harriet cried, rushing forward and grabbing Rose, "I've got you! Oh, you precious thing." Then she noticed the Time Lady. "Gazelle! Is the Doctor with you?"

"He is, but he's in no fit state to help us." Gazelle replied grimly, noticing two charred skeletons on the floor, no doubt victims of the Sycorax, "We're on our own."

~8~

Inside the TARDIS, the vapours caused by the dripping tea rose from beneath the grilling and surrounded the Doctor's head, making it's way into his airways. He took a deep breath in his sleep, opened his mouth and another wisp of energy escaped.

~8~

The Sycorax leader stepped forward and pointed at Gazelle. "Vos koonok." he yelled, "Del panja zu krimit tak saya. Vol, kufa zu pendis."

Harriet's aide looked at a device in his hand. "'The warrior girl, she has the clever blue box.'" he translated, "'Therefore, she speaks for your planet.'"

"But she can't!" Harriet protested. She'd seen for herself that the Sycorax had no mercy. When they'd been teleported up to the ship, Daniel Llewellyn had given a passionate plea for compassion to the Sycorax and the leader had responded by simply reducing him to a skeleton with an energy whip.

"Well, it looks I've got no choice." Gazelle swallowed, stepping forward.

"Don't you dare!" Rose warned

"Rose, look around you." Gazelle told her seriously, "One third of the population is being held to ransom and the Doctor's still out of it. Someone's gotta step up and do something."

"But they'll kill you!" Harriet told her

"Yes, I don't doubt that, but it's never stopped the Doctor, so it won't stop me." Gazelle said determinedly and took a few steps towards the Sycorax leader. She took a deep death and spoke. "People of the Sycorax, this is a level 5 planet protected by article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. You have no right to invade this planet and hold it's population hostage. Now I am ordering you to cease your hostile actions and leave this planet immediately, or I will be forced to stop you."

There were a few seconds of stunned silence, then all the Sycorax burst out laughing raucously. The leader began yelling at Gazelle, which Harriet's aide translated; "'You are very, very funny. And you you're going to die.'"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Harried demanded, lurching forward.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" Mickey roared, he and Rose also lurching forward.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Rose bellowed.

All three were restrained by the Sycorax. The leader continued to speak to Gazelle, circling her. "'Who are you to threaten us?'" Harriet's aide translated, "'We are the Sycorax. We stride the darkness. Next to us, you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion...'"

"Ah, but I'm not from this planet." Gazelle replied coolly, but the leader just ignored her and monologued over her.

"Then your world will be gutted..." he sneered, suddenly switching to English.

"'... your world will be gutted.'" the aide translated

"... and your people enslaved." the leader continued

"'... and your people enslaved.'" the aide translated, then realised; "Hold on, that's English."

"He's talking English." Harriet blinked

"You're talking English." Rose said to the leader

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!" he spat angrily

"That is definitely English." Gazelle said and turned to the others, "Can all of you hear English?"

"Yeah, that's English." Mickey agreed

"Definitely English." the aide added

"I speak only Sycoraxic!" the leader roared angrily

"If we can hear English..." Rose realised

"... then the translation matrix must be working again." Gazelle finished, "Which means..."

They all turned to face the TARDIS. The doors opened to reveal the Doctor standing there, wide awake and looking fit and healthy. "Did ya miss me?" he smiled. The Sycorax leader roared in fury and lashed his whip at the Doctor, who simply caught the end and yanked it out of the leader's grip. "You could have someone's eye out with that." he remarked as he tossed it away.

"How dare you!" the leader roared and tried to attack the Doctor with a wooden staff, but the Doctor just snatched it from him and snapped it in two across his knee.

"You just can't get the staff." he joked, chucking the broken pieces away. "Now you, just wait. I'm busy." he told the leader sternly and turned to the prisoners. "Mickey! Hello!" he greeted cheerfully, "And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This is your life." He turned to Rose. "Tea! That's all I needed. A good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses..." He turned to Gazelle. "Now... first things first... be Honest. How do I look?"

"Handsome." she smiled

"Am I... ginger?" the Doctor asked, deadly serious.

"No, you've got brown hair." Gazelle told him

"Aww, I wanted to be ginger." the Doctor moaned, "I've never been ginger." He turned back to Rose, pointing at her violently. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me! Oh, that's rude." he realised, "Is that the sort of man I am now? Rude an' not ginger."

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Harriet cut in

"I'm the Doctor." the Time Lord replied casually

"But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet asked Gazelle, "Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"No, he's him. Literally him." Gazelle told her, "New body, same person."

"But he can't be..." Harriet stared in disbelief

"Harriet Jones." the Doctor said to her, "We were trapped in Downing Street, an' the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens... wasn't the war... it was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God!" Harriet realised, accepting the truth.

"Did you win the election?" the Doctor asked

"Landside majority." she smiled

"Oh, fantas..." the Doctor began, but tailed off, realising that he couldn't say 'fantastic' anymore. "Hold on, fantas..." He tried a few more times then gave up. "I can't say it anymore." he sighed, "Must be the teeth. Aw, I liked that word. What am I gonna say now? Brilliant? Excellent? Nah. Superb. Marvellous? Molto bene? Oh, I dunno. Let's just settle for very, very good. Yes, that's very, very good." he said to Harriet.

"If I might interupt..." the Sycorax leader cut in, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"Yes! Sorry! Hello, big fella." the Doctor said cheerfully

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the question." the Doctor shrugged

"I demand to know who you are!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" the Doctor mimicked the leader, then went back to a cheerful tone, "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I... I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested." he walked around, addressing everyone "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic?" He looked at Gazelle. "Sexy?" he winked cheerfully at her, causing her to turn her head away, blushing slightly. "Right old misery?" the Doctor continued, walking around the room, "Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob. And how am I gonna react when I see this?" He turned to a device nearby. "A great big threatening' button." He ran up to it, laughing. "A Great Big Threatening Button Which Must Not Be Pressed Under Any Circumstances. Am I right? Let me guess, it's some sort of control matrix? Hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" He bent down and opened a panel on the side. Behind the panel was a pot full of red liquid. "And what've we got here? Blood?" He dipped his finger in it and tasted it. "Yep, definitely blood. Human blood. A-positive. With a dash of iron." He waggled his tongue around at the nasty taste and wiped his finger on his dressing gown.

"So that's how they're doing it." Gazelle realised. "They're controlling everyone on Earth with A-positive blood." she explained to the Doctor.

"Blood control!" the Doctor grinned, "Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years." He turned to the Sycorax leader. "You're controlling all the A-positives!" The leader's grimace faltered slightly. "Which leaves us with a great big, stinking problem." the Doctor continued, "Cos'... I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a Great Big Threatening Button Which Should Never Ever Be Pressed... then I just wanna do this!" And he whacked the button hard.

"NO!" the Humans yelled.

~8~

On the Powell Estate's rooftops, the transfixed A-positives took a step forward... and then they all snapped out of their trance and realised where they were.

"What the hell am I doing up here?" Jason stared

"Get away from the edge!" a relieved Sandra said, and everyone hastily retreated from the edge, staring at the spaceship overhead.

~8~

"You killed them!" Harriet's aide cried

The Doctor seemed completely unfazed. "What do you think, big fella?" he said to the Sycorax leader, "Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live." the leader grunted

"Allow?" the Doctor scoffed, "You've got no choice! I mean, that's all blood control is. Cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis... you can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis, but ya can't hypnotise 'em to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest." the leader growled, "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well, yeah, ya could, yeah, you could do that." the Doctor shrugged, "But why? Look at these people." He gestured to the Humans, speaking passionately. "These Human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet, and blinking step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than... no, hold on." He paused, thinking. "Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!"

"Or what?" the leader snarled

"Or... The Doctor grabbed a sword from the Sycorax guarding Gazelle and the others, then ran down the steps onto the empty floor space in front of the TARDIS and held the sword up in the air. "I challenge you." The Sycorax all burst out laughing again. "Ooh, that's struck a chord." the Doctor commented, "Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

The leader unsheathed his sword. "You stand as this world's champion."

"Thank you." the Doctor said, shrugging off his dressing gown, "I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." He tossed his dressing gown to Gazelle, who caught it. "So... d'ya accept my challenge? Or are you a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

That seemed to anger the leader. He raised his sword in the air and the other Sycorax cheered, then the leader and the Doctor kneeled by their swords. "For the planet?" the leader growled

"For the planet." the Doctor replied

They stood up and faced each other, holding their swords at the ready. Then they ran at each other, and the fight began. After a few seconds, the Doctor was thrown aside, and the leader laughed. The Doctor, however, straightened himself up and they began to fight again, their blades clanging and crashing against each other furiously. The Doctor was trying hard, but the leader was more agile and began forcing the Doctor back across the room.

"Look out!" Rose warned as the leader took a swing at the Doctor's feet.

"Oh, yeah, that helped. Wouldn't have thought of that, thanks." the Doctor retorted as he dodged the blow. He managed to get a blow at the leader, which enraged him further and retaliated, forcing the Doctor back against the wall "Bit of fresh air?" the Doctor said, hitting a button and an airlock opened, leading to a platform on the outside of the ship.

They continued the fight on the platform, Gazelle, Rose, Mickey, Harriet, her aide and a few of the Sycorax following them. The swash-buckling continued. The leader managed to catch the Doctor in the face with the hilt of his sword, causing him to fall to his knees. Rose began to run forward, but Gazelle held her back. "No! If we invalidate the challenge, the Sycorax win the planet." she told her.

The Doctor recovered and he and the leader charged at each other, clashing swords. They both grimaced with the effort, and the Doctor was knocked backwards to the ground. Taking advantage, the leader slashed at the Doctor's right wrist, slicing his hand clean off. It fell down towards London far below. The Doctor watched it drop, then looked back at the leader, looking rather stunned and annoyed. "You cut my hand off."

"Jah! Sycorax!" the leader crowed, raising his sword in triumph.

The Doctor got to his feet, not bothered about his severed limb at all. "And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky, cos' quite by chance... I'm still within the first 15 hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy... to do this." He held up the stump of his arm, and right before everyone's eyes, his right hand grew right back.

"Witchcraft!" the leader spluttered

"Time Lord." the Doctor answered back

Rose took one of the Sycorax's swords. "Doctor!" she called and tossed it to him.

The Doctor caught it by the hilt and spun it round. "Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?" he remarked

"No arguments from me!" Rose smiled

"I never doubted it." Gazelle grinned

The Doctor turned back to the leader. "Wanna know the best bit? This new hand..." He put on a Texan accent. "Is a fightin' hand!"

And with that, the Doctor ran at the leader and the duel recommenced. They clashed swords for a few more moments, then the Doctor jabbed the leader hard in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. He repeated this action twice more, causing the leader to fall to the ground.

"I win." the Doctor said, pointing his sword at the leader's throat.

"Then kill me." the leader groaned

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command: leave this planet, and never return. What d'ya say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species." the Doctor growled, jabbing the sword closer.

"I swear."

The Doctor pulled his sword away. "There we are, then!" he said lightly, "Thanks for that. Cheers, big fella!" He jabbed the sword into the deck.

"Bravo!" Harriet applauded

"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose beamed while Gazelle went over to the Doctor and handed him his dressing gown.

"Not bad for a man in his jim-jams." the Doctor said, slipping it on.

"Very Arthur Dent." Gazelle smiled

"Now, there was a nice man." the Doctor remarked, "Hold on, what've I got in here?" He reached into his pocket. "A satsuma." He pulled the said piece of fruit out of his pocket. "Ah, that friend of ya mother's." he said to Rose, "He does like his snacks, doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?" They began to walk towards the airlock, the Doctor tossing the satsuma in the air and catching it. "You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"

Suddenly, the Sycorax leader got to his feet and picked up his sword, ready to charge. Without even turning around, the Doctor chucked the satsuma at a switch on the side of the ship, causing the section of deck beneath the leader to open, sending him plummeting to his death.

"No second chances." the Doctor said darkly, "I'm that sort of man." He led the way back inside the ship and addressed the remaining Sycorax; "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge 'ere for the rest of time. And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet... when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure you tell 'em this: it is defended."

~8~

The Sycorax took the hint and the Time Lords, Humans and TARDIS were all teleported back to the ground, appearing on a London street. "Where are we?" Rose asked

"We're just off Bloxom Road." Mickey answered. "We're just round the corner, we did it!" he cheered, jumping up and down with glee.

"Wait a minute..." the Doctor cautioned, looking at the sky, "Wait a minute."

They all watched as the Sycorax ship took flight back into space.

"Well, that's seen them off." Gazelle smiled

"Yeah! Don't come back!" Rose cheered, jumping onto Mickey's back.

"It is defended!" Mickey added and they laughed happily.

Rose jumped off Mickey's back and hugged him, then she ran over to Harriet's aide and hugged him, much to his bemusement. The Doctor and Harriet faced each other. Harriet raised her arms, grinning. "My Doctor." she beamed

"Prime Minister." the Doctor reciprocated, and they both hugged

"Absolutely the same man." Harriet said, then they turned to look up at the sky. "Are there many more out there?" Harriet asked

"Oh, not just Sycorax." the Doctor replied casually, "Hundreds of species. Thousands of 'em. And the Human race is drawing attention to itself. Everyday you're sending out probes and messages and signals, this planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed... more an' more. Ya'd better get used to it." he finished.

At that moment, Jackie came round the corner. "ROSE!" she yelled

"MUM!" Rose yelled back, running over to her.

"Oh, talking of trouble." the Doctor muttered

"Oi, be nice." Gazelle playfully scolded

Rose and Jackie launched themselves at each other and shared a relieved hug. "Oh, my God! You did it, Rose!" Jackie breathed, "Oh!"

"You did too!" Rose told her, "It was the tea. Fixed his head!"

"That was all I needed, good cuppa tea." the Doctor said as he and Gazelle joined them.

"I said so!" Jackie gloated to Rose

"Look at him!" Rose smiled happily, gesturing to the Doctor.

"Is it him, though?" Jackie asked, "Is he really the Doctor?" Then she noticed Harriet. "Oh, my God! It's the bleeding Prime Minister!"

"Come here, you." the Doctor grinned, throwing his arms out and he, Gazelle, Rose, Mickey and Jackie all shared a group hug.

"Aw...! Are ya better?" Jackie asked the Doctor as they broke apart.

"Well, yeah." the Doctor replied, and they all chatted happily, none of them noticing Harriet's aide approach her.

"It's a message from Torchwood." he said, "They say they're ready."

Harriet closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, watching the happy group a short way away. The Doctor gave her a brief smile, which she feebly tried to return, then turned back to her aide. "Tell them to fire." she ordered

The aide spoke into his earpiece, "Fire at will."

Huge bolts of green energy shot out of five points on the ground and converged in mid-air to form one enormous bolt of energy, which shot out into space and hit the retreating Sycorax ship, destroying it.

"What is that?" Rose gasped, "What's happening?"

The Doctor didn't answer, he just walked over to Harriet, outraged. "That was murder." he growled.

"That was defence." Harriet argued, "It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that crashed to Earth 10 years ago."

"But they were leaving!" Gazelle pointed out, "They're surrendered, they weren't a threat anymore."

"The Doctor said himself they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth." Harriet countered, "I'm sorry, but you two aren't here all the time. You come and go. It happened today, Mr Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping, Doctor. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"I'm sorry about those two deaths, Harriet." Gazelle said reasonably, "But that doesn't justify murdering over a thousand Sycorax. That wasn't defence, you just wanted revenge."

"I gave 'em the wrong warning." the Doctor scowled, "I should've told 'em to run, as fast as they can, run and hide cos' the monsters are coming: the Human race."

"Those are the people I represent." Harriet said defiantly, "I did it on their behalf."

"Then we should've stopped you." the Doctor snarled

"And what does that make you two?" Harriet challenged, "Another alien threat?"

"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones." the Doctor spat, stepping angrily towards her, "Cos' I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your government with a single word."

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met." Harriet said coolly, "But I don't think you're quite capable of that."

"No, ya right, not a single word." the Doctor said, looking down at her, "More like six."

"I don't think so."

"Six words."

"Stop it!"

"Six." the Doctor reinforced, and they stared at each other for a few seconds, a battle of wills. Then the Doctor walked around her and approached the aide. "Don't you think she looks tired?" he whispered in the aide's ear, then he took Gazelle's hand and they walked off, Mickey and the Tylers following, all ignoring Harriet's cries to tell her what the Doctor had said.

~8~

That evening, the Doctor was in the TARDIS wardrobe choosing a new outfit for himself. After rummaging through innumerable options, he eventually settled on a brown suit with blue pinstripes. For footwear, he chose a pair of cream converse high tops, and he finished his outfit off with a brown duster coat. Once dressed and happy with his new look, he headed back to the console room, where Gazelle was lounging in the jump seat listening to some Christmas songs. "What d'ya think? he asked, gesturing to his outfit.

"Love it." Gazelle replied, "Very geek-chic."

The Doctor was happy at that, then he noticed in her eyes that something was troubling her. "What's wrong?" he asked

"Nothing." she waved him off

"Remii, I know when something's troubling you. Just tell me."

Gazelle sighed. "I was just thinking, about how useless I was while you were out of things. Harriet had a point. The Sycorax tried to enslave the Earth and I did nothing to stop them."

"You weren't useless." the Doctor reassured her, "Don't forget, you were the one who stopped that tree. You never gave up, even when Rose did, and you stood up to the Sycorax. I heard everything while I was sleeping."

"Everything?"

"Yep."

"Even what I said to Mickey?"

"Every single word."

Gazelle shifted uncomfortably. "I was scared, Theta. I was beginning to think you'd never recover, but I had stay strong for Rose's benefit. I was afraid of being alone. I do love you, Theta. You're the most amazing, wonderful man, and I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you."

The Doctor sat down beside her and took her hand, looking deep into her eyes, her confession giving him the courage to say what his previous body had never been brave enough to say. "I love you too, Remii. You're beautiful, kind and caring, and you've been my rock for the last 50 years. There's been times when the darkness has nearly consumed me, and then you pull me back. I've felt something for ya for a while now. Just never could bring myself to say so." He stood up and pressed a button on the console. Fairy-tale of New York by the Pogues & Kirsty MacColl began to play. "Fancy a dance?" he asked, offering her his hand.

Gazelle took it and the two Time Lords danced around the console room to the song. As the song reached it's rousing climax, they began to drift closer to each other, then their lips met, and they kissed. Time stood still around them as they stood there in each other's arms, locked in a loving embrace.

~8~

In the Tyler flat, Rose, Jackie and Mickey fussed around preparing Christmas dinner. Rose looked round as the front door opened and the Doctor and Gazelle walked in, arms wrapped round each other and their faces glowing happily. Rose grinned, realising that the Time Lords had finally admitted their feelings for each other.

Christmas dinner turned out to be a happy occasion. Despite the Doctor and Mickey's scepticism, it turned out that Jackie could cook a fantastic turkey that went down well with everyone. As they were tucking in, Rose noticed something on the telly. "Look, it's Harriet Jones!"

They all turned to the telly, which was showing Harriet Jones being grilled by the media. "Prime Minister, is it true you are no longer fit to be in position?" a journalist asked

"No." Harriet shot back, "Now, can we talk about other things?"

The Doctor slipped on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and stared sternly at the telly

"Is it true you're unfit for office?" the journalist continued to probe.

"Look, there is nothing wrong with my health!" an exasperated Harriet shot back, "I don't know where these stories are coming from! And a vote of no confidence... is completely unjustified."

The phone rang and Jackie went into the kitchen to answer it.

"Are you going to resign?" the journalist continued to pester Harriet.

"On today of all days, I'm fine!" Harriet snapped, getting frustrated, "Look at me, I'm fine. I look fine, I feel fine..."

Jackie came back in. "It's Bev. She says go an' look outside." she said.

"Why?" Rose questioned

"I dunno, just go outside." Jackie shrugged, "Come on, shift!" And so they all got up.

~8~

They all went outside to find it snowing and shooting stars in the sky. The Humans all looked around in wonder and delight. "Oh, that's beautiful." Rose breathed, "What are they, meteors?"

"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere." the Doctor replied, "This isn't snow, it's ash."

"Ok, not so beautiful." Rose mumbled lamely

"Had to take the fun out of it, didn't ya?" Gazelle remarked, nudging the Doctor playfully.

"An' this is a brand-new planet Earth." the Doctor continued, "No denying the existence of aliens now, everyone saw it. Everything's new."

"And what about you?" Rose asked, "What're you two gonna do?"

"Well... back to the TARDIS with this lovely lady here." the Doctor replied, slipping his left arm around Gazelle's waist, "Same old life."

"Just the two of ya?" Rose asked tentatively

"Why, don't ya wanna come?" the Doctor asked back

"Well, yeah."

"Do you, though?" Gazelle asked sincerely

"Yeah!"

"I just thought... cos' I changed..." the Doctor began

"Yeah, I... I thought, cos' ya changed, and you two're together now, ya might not want me to come." Rose said

"Oh, we'd love ya to come." the Doctor said sincerely

"Yeah, you're our best friend, Rose." Gazelle added, "And the sister I never had."

"Ok!" Rose laughed, feeling much happier.

"Ya never gonna stay, are you?" Mickey said quietly, looking at the ground.

"There's just so much out there." Rose told him, "So much to see... I've got to..."

"Yeah." Mickey nodded, not happy, but accepting that his Rose was well and truly gone.

"Well, I reckon ya mad." Jackie commented to the three time travellers, "The three of ya. It's like ya go looking for trouble."

"Trouble's just the bits in-between." the Doctor said casually, "It's all waiting out there, Jackie. Everything's brand new to me. All those planets... creatures and horizons... I haven't seen 'em yet, not with these eyes. And it is gonna be... fantastic!" he said to Rose, offering her his right hand.

"That hand of yours still gives me the creeps." Rose laughed, pointing at it as the Doctor wiggled his fingers. She took it and the trio stood close together. "So, where're we gonna go first?"

"Um... that way." the Doctor replied, pointing to a spot in the night sky.

"Nah, let's try that way." Gazelle countered, pointing to a spot to the right of where the Doctor had pointed.

"That way it is, then." the Doctor smiled and kissed her on the side of the head.

Rose watched them happily. Her two best friends were finally together as a couple. Just as it should be.