Eyes of Time: The Final Line ✓

Chapter 55: Journey's End

[TARDIS]

"This is all your fault, you fucking brat," the Alchemist growls as she grabs the jar with his spare hand and places it next to her husband, "We never should have been forced to deal with the consequences of your actions. Hand on the jar, love," she orders.

The Doctor, in pain, reaches over and slams his hand on top of the jar, forcing his Regeneration energy into it.

"Now then. Where were we?" the Doctor asks, starting to sit up.

Donna, Jack and Rose are stunned while the Alchemist frowns, helping the Doctor up from the ground.

'Dealing with the brat's mess,' the Alchemist reminds him silently and he nods to her.

[Sarah Jane's car]

The shrill, metallic voices of the Daleks echo through the empty street, their eyestalks swiveling toward their prey.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Sarah Jane braces herself, gripping the edge of the car for cover. There's no way out. No escape.

A sudden blast of energy rips through the air. The lead Dalek explodes in a shower of sparks, its casing collapsing inward. Another shot rings out, followed by a second explosion.

Sarah Jane blinks in shock as the dust settles. Two figures stand on either side of the car, massive guns still smoking.

Mickey Smith lowers his weapon with a cocky grin, "Us Smiths got to stick together."

Beside him, a blonde woman plants her hands on her hips, eyes blazing, "Jackie Tyler, Rose's mum," she announces, "Now, where the hell is my daughter? I need to stop her from being an idiot!"

Mickey gives a resigned shrug, "She's not wrong."

[Torchwood]

Gwen and Ianto stand firm, their faces set in grim determination as they unleash round after round from their machine guns. The deafening rattle of gunfire fills the air, echoing through the Hub as they empty their clips at the Dalek standing motionless before them.

But something's wrong. The Dalek isn't firing back.

As the last bullets leave their chambers, the gunfire ceases, replaced by an eerie silence. Both of them stare, their breath heavy, as the bullets—every single one—hover in midair.

Gwen's heart pounds as she cautiously steps forward. She reaches out a hand, fingers brushing against the empty space before her. The air ripples at her touch, shifting like water disturbed by a pebble.

Her eyes widen, "What the hell?" she breathes.

[TARDIS]

The Doctor checks on his still-glowing spare hand, turning it over in the light.

"There now," he says calmly.

With a small breath, he blows on the jar, and the glow fades.

"You see? Used the Regeneration energy to heal myself, but once I was done, I didn't need to change," he shrugs, his tone casual, but there's weight behind his words, "Didn't want to and Ally knew that, she always knows what I want and need. Why would I want to change? Look at me," his lips quirk into a small smile, "Ally loves me like this... well, she always loves me," he shakes his head, "Besides the point. To stop the energy from going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle—namely, my hand."

He gestures toward the ground, "That hand. My handy spare hand. Remember? Christmas Day, Sycorax, lost it in a sword fight?" he glances at Jack, "You even used it as a Doctor Detector. So, what do you think?"