Touch The Sky: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 3]

Journey's End (Part 4)

For a moment, even the Daleks seemed to be in shock. Matt's gaze darted from Mallory to Cyndi, then to the Doctor, who seemed to be the only one unsurprised by this revelation. "This isn't the time for a joke," he finally managed.

"I wish I was joking," Cyndi answered. "I promised I wouldn't tell you."

Before they could speak any further, the Supreme Dalek announced, "RECHARGE CYCLE COMPLETED."

Davros said, "The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor and his children, all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek, the time has come. Now... detonate the Reality Bomb!"

"ACTIVATE PLANETARY ALIGNMENT FIELD," the Supreme Dalek said again. "UNIVERSAL REALITY DETONATION IN TWO HUNDRED RELS."

"You can't, Davros!" the Doctor tried once more. "Just listen to me! Just stop!"

Davros only let out a laugh. "Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing and no one!"

He only stopped cackling when the sound of the TARDIS broke through the air.

"But that's..." the brown-suited Doctor started.

"Impossible." Davros finished.

The blue-suited Doctor appeared in the doorway, his gizmo in hand. "Brilliant," Jack muttered.

The blue Doctor darted toward Davros, weapon trained, while the brown Doctor shouted, "Don't!"

The warning came too late, though, as Davros lifted his hand, shooting a bolt of light at the blue Doctor, who seized and cried out in pain. He fell to the floor of the vault, his weapon clattering to the floor a few feet away.

"Activate holding cell," Davros said, and another chamber of light formed around the fallen second Doctor.

"Doctor!" Donna screamed, darting out of the TARDIS herself. She snatched up the weapon. "I've got it! But I don't know what to do!"

Before anyone could say a word, Davros zapped her, too, sending her flying back through the air. "Donna!" the brown-suited Doctor cried. "Donna! Are you all right, Donna?"

"Destroy the weapon!" Davros ordered, and a Dalek shot a bolt of light that sent the Doctor's weapon sparking. The creator of the Daleks looked back to the brown Doctor. "I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic."

"How come there's two of you?" Rose asked quietly.

"Human biological metacrisis," the brown Doctor answered. "Never mind that. Now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"DETONATION IN TWENTY RELS," the Supreme Dalek said. "NINETEEN."

"Stand witness, Time Lord," Davros said. "Stand witness, humans. Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and... oh. The end of the universe has come."

"NINE. EIGHT. SEVEN. SIX. FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE."

At the last possible moment, the screen showing the glowing planets went dead and an alarm began to blare.

"Mm, closing all z-neutrino relay loops using an internalized synchronous back-feed reversal loop," Donna said conversationally, then pointed at the console she was positioned at. "That button there."

"SYSTEM IN SHUTDOWN!"

"DETONATION NEGATIVE!"

"EXPLAIN. EXPLAIN. EXPLAIN!"

"Donna, you can't even change a plug!" the brown-suited Doctor said in disbelief.

"Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?" she said with a smirk.