Hello everyone, and welcome to my story, 'Mixed Minds', and I hope it is slightly more original then the last thing you've read! This is a Time Lady OC story, so everyone please say hello to Scellioviscoterostigiamata! Otherly known as The Calm.
Yes. Yes, I know she has a long name- I'm just trying to stick with what is normal for the Doctor Who world. This is only my second Time Lady series, so be a little forgiving.
The Calm, (Yes, just like the Calm before the Storm. It is a reference to the Doctor, you're good. So anyways, I'm trying to be sneaking, so don't ruin this for me.) She's the complete opposite of my last Time Lady, she's more like the people we heard about in the show. She's just an average stuffy woman, with the whole 'I'm better than you, because genetically I'm superior' attitude. Well, that is until her mind forcefully merges with the other voices beyond the veil. Hopefully you like her.
Summary: She had an average life, content with her work, never wanting to travel or explore. She had everything she could ask for. Then one day her hand touched a crack, and she hears it all. Timelines change, fix points burn, and the universe shift as she runs. OCTime Lady/Doctor
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Doctor Who franchise. All rights and reservations belong to the BBC corporation. And trust me, I've tried to change their minds.
Chapter One- Prologue
Scellioviscoterostigiamata of the house of Decom was very much part of the average majority.
She wouldn't say that she was boring, but then again she certainly wasn't anything extraordinary. The common standards of rules, laws, and expectations that ran her life were perfectly reasonable, and she found nothing worth changing.
She was of standard build and looks, only on her first life. She had a darker complexion, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, a little shorter than most, and wore the most common standard in fashion. She however, refused to ware those stuffy high traditional collars. She was a working woman who had no need to walk around in such expensive and fancy attire. Other then to formal traditional family ceremonies, those terribly itchy things were avoided at all costs.
She was a middle class fifth level technical mechanic, a lower born citizen of a smaller and less significant house. She lived in the third largest city on Gallifrey called Sullec, next to the ancient mountain peaks of the Lost Hills, and she had a small little home only a few streets away from where she worked, on the edge of the inner city.
She lived alone now, still too young for marriage, still technically barely an adult, but beyond the age to live with relatives. She was only one hundred and six years old and she could count the amount of friends she had on one hand. Her work was rather enjoyable, her coworkers were fairly polite, though there were a few that had some interesting quirks. They had started to refer to their jobs as 'The plumbers', a word she only recently learned was Human in origin.
She had heard of it before, the little rock had somehow become a recent obsession in the underground community. It was spoken in hushed gossips next to the infamy of renegades such as The Lord Doctor or The Lady Rani, on par with criminals such as the sociopath Lord Master.
Oh yes, she had heard the whispers of that species.
The Humans.
They were talked about constantly, how they might one day create their own sets of laws, who may even defy their own, with a future so in flux that even the most skilled of soothsayers not able to see even just one solid fixed moment in their timeline. The young planet called Earth. It was a level five planet in her current timeline, small in size and orbiting only one sun, with blue skies and green grass, that had sentient ape-like humanoids that were strikingly similar in appearance to them.
Why anyone would be interested in such a strange place, she really couldn't understand.
Blue sky? And green grass? So very, very short life spans, extremely so. They didn't even know how to see time, or feel the turn of the universe under their own feet. How abnormal even for her standards.
She might not be an official Observer of Time, her title of Lady was just a formality given to her by family, but she was not sheltered either. She had finished the required fifty six years of schooling, but never returned to learn how to become a pilot or an observer. She was called a Time Lady simply because it was easier for everyone to say instead of 'Partitioned Gallefrenian underclassmanship' like it was stated on her certificate. Everyone went to school, but in reality only a select few ever truly became Official Time Lords and Ladies of Gallifrey. Everyone else were also called Time Lords simply because it was the polite thing to do.
Like any other of the eleven point six billion other people on her planet, she was perfectly fine with letting Old High Gallifreian politics continue the way they have for millenniums. She enjoyed the complexities of her life on her own, in her own city, in her own neighborhood.
Scellioviscoterostigiamata was content. Perfectly content with her life.
She was happy with what she had. She might not be the most intelligent, nor the wealthiest, and maybe not even the most recognizable to anyone else, but that was fine. Her time lines were simple, her past met expectations, her present was comfortable, and her possible futures all looked peaceful. There wasn't anymore that she needed or wanted in life.
So, when she was called into the Main academy in the inner city to fix a supposedly average problem for work, she didn't think twice about it.
"You're attendance is off." The clerk at the front office scowled, tapping away on the device around his wrist. He plucked the tablet off the counter and handed it to her with a huff. "What type of business are you running where any self respecting Lady or Lord can be late?"
"My apologies." Scellioviscoterostigiamata dryly muttered, taking the tablet with a tight frown. It would not do to scowl at a client. "There was traffic."
"Acceptable as it is, simply get to work." He snapped, pointing towards the doors to the left with a huff, and lifted his chin to look down at her. "The Observes will be here in sixteen clicks, I want the Schism to be presentable by fourteen. They're high priority clients, if you fail this it's on your company."
"Yes sir." She looked down at the tablet, scanning the information before fumbling, blinking in confusion. She raised an eyebrow with a frown as she looked over the schematics again.
Wait. That couldn't be right. What was this?
"A crack? On the schism?" She looked up at the clerk in confusion, "How did that happen?" He glared before waving her off.
"Isn't that your job?" He snapped before turning away to do business elsewhere.
What a swell man indeed. She avoided rolling her eyes until she left the room, tucking the tablet under her arm. She never liked dealing with higher born individuals, they were always so rude to others such as herself. Too much self righteousness and power always brought out the worst in others. It didn't matter how advanced a civilization became, there would always be the need for people with mundane jobs like the one she had. There was no reason to be rude about it.
She had already taken out her tools from her belt before she reached the room, reading the information one more time. She bit her lower lip as she squinted at the diagram, turning it different directions before giving up. She looked up at the machine in the middle of the room with hesitant eyes, the rest of the room was empty except for the large oval ring right in the center, the glowing blue vortex swirling inside of it.
The infinite Schism, a fixed open tear in the time vortex. Every potential Time Lord and Lady looks upon it at the age of seven. Some became memorized, some become lost, some were inspired, some go mad, others run in fear. It was the most important day of anyone's life since Lord Rassilon became a god and founded their society millions of years ago.
Scellioviscoterostigiamata rolled her eyes as she made her way into the room.
On the other hand, some simply yawned and turn away from the Schism, asking the adults for something to eat out of boredom. She did get quite the spanking from the headmaster and two semesters straight of after school detention for that.
Her eyes focused on the far left corner of the ring, near the ground and she cringes.
Yes. There was a crack. it was a long jagged black mark across the metal surface, going right along the curve and almost touching the vortex.
"How does that happen?" She hisses as she approached the Schism, slowly making her way to the side, being sure not to stare directly into it.
She was in no mood to see everything as it was, has been, or could be without control of her actions at the moment. She was at work, thank you. She pulled out the subparticle nanogen scanner from her vest, holding it up over the mark as she bit her lip again. She frowned as the readings came up on the screen.
She jumped in surprise at the high marks, a maroon warning box blinking urgently on the screen. She snapped up to stare in shock at the schism before growling.
"I can not believe that Lord! I am not going to hurry my repairs, It's the infinite Schism! Ridiculous! Fix it in only fourteen clicks, is he serious?" She scoffed and clicked away on the scanner, finding the right frequency before setting it down next to her.
She leaned in closer, glaring at the black mark. It looked like some child had gotten ahold of a knife and haphazardly swung it around multiple times.
She glared at it hotly, daring it to disappear. It would sure as Rassilon make her life easier.
It was a real crack, and from what she could tell from her scans it was exponentially deep. It was a crack on one of the most unbreakable substances in the universe, and before today she would have said it couldn't happen. But there it was. She had never heard of this happening before, ever. Not once.
"How?" She whispered as she brought her face down to the anomaly, only inches away from it. She squinted her eyes and turned her head to the side, bringing a hand up as she tried to understand.
"Where did you come from?" She spoke softly in wonder, slowly tracing a sharp edge with a finger.
CAN YOU HEAR
She was not prepared for the voice that ripped through her conciousness, the sound as if the entirety of Gallifrey had asked her a single question at the same time, billions of voices shouting in union.
The crack on the schism shot forward, and with a hiss sliced into her hand as black claws seared her flesh. She jerked back with a pained yelp, stumbling to her feet as lights burst behind her eyes, accidentally kicking her tools away as she stumbled back blindly. As her sight wavered, she stared in shock at the Schism, the room spinning and dimming in and out. Where the crack used to be, the metal was now completely smooth and unblemished, no sign of the previous damage.
She flinched as searing heat traveled up her arm and she looked down at herself, opening her hand with a hiss.
The black crack glowed ominously against the blistered flesh of her palm.
"Wha-!" Scellioviscoterostigiamata let out a croak before her throat slammed shut, her face twisting in mute horror as she fell to her knees.
Pain!
She let out a short wail as she dug her unmarked hand into her scalp, squeezing her eyes shut as lights blazed under her eyelids. There was so much pain! The pain! Pain pain pain pain! She clawed at her hair as colors shot through her mind, feelings, touches, smells, emotions, movements, fears, hopes, dreams, wants, dislikes, the smell of the rain.
The touch of cool metal against warm skin.
The sight of snow for the first time.
The annoyance of missing an important date.
The joy of laughing with a loved one.
The sound of fireworks.
The taste of midday ice cream during the summer.
She gasped loudly as a kaleidoscope of colors exploded behind her eyes, different parts of her brain firing off in union. Everything was moving chaotically without control as she tried to curl away from the searing agony running through her.
Stop! Stop it! Just stop! Please! She cried out as her hearts burned, and there was just too much noise, too many sensations all at once, too many memories all trying to come to the surface, too many thoughts. Too much. It was too much! Too much pain, too much-
A twelve year old girl sat in front of her television, watching wide eyed and in wonder at the show in front of her.
The woman on the screen trembles near the doors of the TARDIS, looking around at how huge it was compared with the outside. The Doctor is wiring up the head of the Auton.
"You see, the arm is too simple, but the head's perfect."
The woman, Rose, still looks overwhelmed.
"Woah." The young girl, Alyce Johnson, gasps, bringing up her controller to pause the screen. She'd never heard of this show before, simply stumbling onto it on a casual Saturday and deciding to watch it because there wasn't anything else to do. She stares at the background of the ship in amazement.
"This... this is cool!"
A boy around fourteen is laughing in front of his computer, on the sixth hour of his marathon. He has a bag of chips and a cat in his lap.
On the computer screen there were three people huddled in a corner, surrounded by gas-mask people, who seemed hesitant to advance.
"Go to your room!"
The gas-mask people cook their heads to one side, and Rose and Jack look at one another is a mixture of terror and confusion.
"I mean it! I am very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross! Go. To. Your. Room!" The Doctor points violently in no particular direction, and miraculously, all the gas-mask people turn meekly away. They walk off, Jamie leaving the room.
"Of course that works!" The boy, Michale Lasik laughs, shaking his head as he takes a bite of his chips.
"You picked last time!" Chelsie snatched the controller from her husband, glaring at him as went for another action thriller. "It's my turn."
"But you always pick the weird crap." Mark whined, grabbing for the Netflix controller. Chelsie huffed, sitting farther away from him.
"Yea well, not this time." She quickly scrolled down, clicking on foreign series."My friend from work recommended this. Apparently it's like Firefly. Just you know, English."
"What's it called?" He sighed as he reached for another drink, and she shrugged.
"Something called, 'Doctor Who."
"Hey..." Megan looked up from her desk, seeing her best mate chewing on her pencil next to her, watching her instead of doing the assignment.
"Yea? What is it?" Ashley grinned, picking up her sheet to show her a drawing of a weird alien on the side of the page.
"Remember that show I was telling you about earlier? Doctor Who?"
"Yea?"
"Taylor and Nicole are coming over to see it. And you, like, promised you'd give it a try. Come on, watch it with us tonight." She laughed at Megan's exasperated look. "Really, you'll love it! I swear!" She groaned, waving her off.
"If it gets you to stop talking about it?" She nodded, and Megan shrugged. "Sure, I'll give it a whirl. It's not like it's going to be as weird as that last thing we watched."
There was a long, tense pause.
"It's not... Right?"
CAN YOU HEAR
She was burning up! She screamed as loud as she could as she crumbled to the floor, curling into a ball. Tucking her head into her knees she whimpers, crying as her brain spasms.
Neuron fire off rapidly, her muscles jerking uncontrollably as she bits her tongue. The subparticle Nanogen controller beeped rapidly on the ground, all the warning signs flashing on the screen.
She's seizing. Violently.
There's two people in their early twenties, both hiding behind pillows on the couch, peaked out to watch in mute terror.
"And That's it, I'm afraid. There's no more from you on the transcript, that's all I've got. I dunno what stopped you talking, But I can guess. They're coming. The Angels are coming for you. But listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink! Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink! Good luck!"
"No! Don't, you can't!" Sally hissed at the screen as it turned to static, Larry behind her standing up.
"I'll rewind him!" He sprung forward as Sally backed away, both their faces pale.
"What good would that do!?" She hissed, before frowning. "You're not looking at the statue?" They both look at one other as they froze.
"Neither are you." Larry whispered.
They both quickly look behind them, only to see the statue is far closer, it's face distorted into a menacing snarl.
"NO!" The man, Joshua, screams loudly from his spot on the couch, throwing the pillow at the television as his girlfriend violently stands up, bolting out the room.
"I'm not watching this! I'm not watching this! This is too freaking scary!" Alex hisses and she's already in the kitchen on the other side of the house.
A little girl, nine years old is watching the show without blinking, her two older brothers sitting on either side of her.
The Doctor is placed in the chair within the Pandorica and clamps are placed around his wrist and ankles. A large yank comes down over his shoulder as he struggles, his enemies standing at the opening to gloat over his end.
"You lot... Working together, an alliance. How is that possible?" He croaks.
"THE CRACKS IN THE SKIN OF THE UNIVERSE." The closes Dalek speaks first.
"All reality is threatened." The Sontaran growls.
"ALL UNIVERSES WILL BE DELETED." This time a Cyberman speaks, and the Doctor gulps as he yanks at his restraints.
"What? And you've come to me for help?"
"No." The Sontaran hisses, pointing at him with hate. "We will save the universe from you!"
"From me?"
"All projections correlate. All evidence concurs. The Doctor will destroy the universe." The Cyberman spoke as the Doctor's eyes widened in horror.
"No, no, no. You've got it wong!"
Diyora gasps as the show suddenly stops, the television freezing on the Doctor's horrified face. She whirls around to see her father standing behind them, a frown on his face. He his stroking his beard, and his traditional indian garb contrasting their mothers contemporary English home.
"Didn't I say you tree, no T.V until finishing chores?" Their father snaps in broken english, still not quite as good at it as his children. Yet.
"But dad!" Her brother, Javahl whines, "It's the season final-"
"No buts!" He points with a glare, shooing them from their spots. "You tree! Up! Clean!"
All three of them groan as they stand.
"A what?" The man behind the desk asked sharply, tugging on suit in agitation.
"An alien." One of the three men across from him spoke, the other two nodding almost in union, both holding a duplicate script of the first episode.
"An alien?" He raised an eyebrow, picking up the script again. "A historically accurate, educational show with an alien?"
"His granddaughter is there as well. There's also a space ship." He nodded again. "It can travels across the universe."
"It also travels through time." His cowriter spoke up beside him.
"An accurate, educational show about an alien and his granddaughter, with human companions, travelling in a spaceship that can move through time and space." The third man finished, none of them braking eye contact with the man behind the desk.
There was a moment of silence as one of the head producers of BBC flipped through the script again, a frown plastered on his face.
"And... What are you going to call this?"
"Well." He smiled, "We were thinking, how does 'Doctor Who' sound?"
He snorts.
"I think it's not even going to make it through one season."
CAN YOU HEAR
Scellioviscoterostigiamata doesn't know how she was able to stumble to her feet, her legs unable to find solid footing as she stumbled blindly. Her fingers were digging into her skin, clawing at her skull as she tried to get away.
The voices. The memories. The feelings. The emotions. The thoughts. The sounds. There were millions of them. Millions all speaking at once, moving at once, thinking at once. Everything was blending, shifting, merging and she couldn't comprehend where anything was, what anything was.
She could hear it. He could hear it. They could hear it. We could hear it. Us. Them. Our.
"Doctor Who?" Melanie looked up, "What's that?"
"I hate the Silence! They're creepy as hell." Andre hissed at the dinner table, his little brother rolling his eyes. "There could be one here! Right now! And we'd never know!"
"I'm uncomfortable every time I walk by a statue... It's embarrassing really." Aisha sighed dramatically.
"Hey guys! Doctor Who's on." Mc'cullan yelled for his siblings, the title sequence already playing.
"Doctor Who!" Jacklyn Harmlett laughed, "It's pretty much a national pass time, isn't it?"
"Doctor Who!" A little girl, Chistian, laughed as the walked into the stadium, excited about watching the Palms. "Mom! It's the Doctor! The Doctor!"
"Hello Stonehedge!"
"It's a pretty terrible show. I mean the graphics are horrible."
"Doctor Smexy is more like it."
"It's amazing."
"No! Your bed time was three hours ago! Turn off the T.V, stop watching Doctor Who, and go to bed!"
"I think it's stupid. I don't see what all the fuss is about."
"Would you like a Jelly Baby?"
"I wish I had a TARDIS."
"It's Christmas! What are you doing watching that sci-fy stuff again?!"
"It's a bit Wibbily Wobbily. You know, Timey whimy?"
"And don't wonder off!"
"What I would give to be a companion..."
"I stopped watching after season four. Too sad for me."
"Can you believe the actor from Doctor Who ran with the olympic torch? What's his name again? Max something?"
"Time and Relative Dimensions In Space."
"Who comes up with this stuff?"
"Come on, It's Doctor Who!"
"Oh, Doctor Who's on..."
"The Master is the stupidest villain ever. He uses magic. In a sci-fy show!"
"Damn you Moffat!"
"Maybe just one more episode. Then I'll go to bed. Yea, one more. Or two. One more season."
"I'm still mad. Do Time Lords have babies normally, or do they do that whole, 'genetic splicing and everyone is each other's cousin' stuff? Which is cannon damn it?!"
"Can you shut up about that stupid show already?"
"Allons-y! Wait... What does Allons-y mean?"
"It's seriously depressing."
"He's kind of hot. I mean, the chin is a bit... eh. And those eyebrows! But he's still pretty."
"I still think the Daleks are the scariest things out there."
"Fantastic!"
"I'm not a fan."
"I'm going to meet John Barrowman!"
"Seriously? That show's still going on?"
"No! What part of not blinking don't you get?!"
"It Sarah Jane! Look look it's Sarah!"
"Exterminate! Exterminate!"
"Oh my god! Matt Smith's in New York! Someone, hurry! Buy me a damn ticket!"
"I... don't actually watch it."
"I couldn't believe it. When I got the call from my agent, I just stood there in front of my sink for the longest time. Then I finally said, 'I'm The Doctor'. It was amazing!"
"I think I'm a bit obsessed."
"Never missed an episode."
"I rather watch Downtown Abby."
"I'm in love!"
"I was only able to get through three episodes before I gave up."
"I miss David..."
"It's scary!"
"I don't want Matt to go! He can't leave!"
"Sonic screwdriver!"
"Mom! Can you check the basement for Daleks! They might be down there!"
"I can't wait for the new season!"
"Now don't start with that. You know I was never a big fan of it when it came out."
"Who's your Doctor?"
"Amy is so Hot."
"I love it."
"I don't like it."
"Who hasn't heard of Doctor Who?"
"Doctor Who?"
"Yea, it's my favorite. Comes on every Saturday, Doctor Who."
"Well, It's a show called Doctor Who."
"Doctor Who..."
"Doctor Who."
"Doctor."
"Who?"
"Who."
"Doctor Who?"
"Doctor Who!"
"Doctor..."
"Who!?"
CAN YOU HEAR
"Yes."
The voices finally quieted, descending into a crescendo of a buzzing hive. The lights dimmed. The sounds wavered. The thoughts, the sights, the moments all slowed as millions quieted down for the first time together, finally moving as one. The feelings eased into a warm trickle as they gently caressed instead of thrashing wildly.
Everything simmered peacefully right under her fingertips. Everything fell gently, turning to blissful whispers.
She stood still in the middle of the room, her eyes closed as she listened.
Just listening.
Then, slowly, ever so slowly, she inhaled, letting the crisp cold air of the room fill her lungs. She could feel every movement as her hearts pumped, as her blood flowed, the feel of the clothes against her skin, the sound of the air moving around her, and she squeezed her hands.
Carefully, gently, she opened her eyes, slowly peeling her eyelids back with her head bowed in comfort. She looked out into the room. A room that was completely the same. A room that now meant so much more.
And so very much less.
"Yes."
Her voice sounded strange, foreign as it rattled out of her throat. It was exactly the same as it was before. Just not. She brought a hand up to her ear, holding it up against it, and listened.
"Yes I do." She hummed happily, a small content smile forming gently across her lips, "I hear." Another type of warmth spread over her cheeks, wetting her eyes.
The voices sung back. So softly, happy and barely there, but she could hear them.
"I can hear you." She laughed gently, her voice cracking as she closed her eyes again, silent tears threatening to fall. "I can hear. I can, and I understand."
The tears finally fell as she laughed in pure joy, lifting her arms to hold out her hands, basking in the sounds. The voices laughed, cheered, sung, questioned, understood, agreed, disagreed, danced, growled, argued, smiled, cried, and so so much more.
"I'll change it."
"Well are you done?"
She blinked at the sudden voice, automatically dropping her arms.
Turned around quickly, she blinked owlishly at the the clerk standing in the door way. He had another tablet and a rather harsh scowl on his face, not at all impressed, with a hand in a pocket as he shot her a rather disapproving look. His eyes looked between her and the Schism in distaste before he stood up straighter.
"I see that the blemish was taking care of. I hope you didn't cut corners." He spoke dryly as he looked down, typing another order into the tablet as she continued to stare.
"There is another Level five, as well as two level three mishaps on corridor eight. I need them fix by nineteen clicks." He walked into the room stiffly, snapping his orders off rather snippy as he reached her. His arm snapped out, the tablet held right in front of her. She didn't make a move to take it, instead tilting her head to the side as she stared unblinking at the Lord. He held back the sneer, instead narrowing his eyes in annoyance.
"Well?" He frowned as she didn't change, her unmoving brown eyes staring directly into his own. He wavered slightly, shifting on his feet as an uncomfortable chill seemed to enter the room. Had he been able to listen, maybe he could have heard their disappointment.
Maybe not.
Scellioviscoterostigiamata finally blinked once more, before taking a step back without taking the device from the Lords hand. He stared at her in confusion, his brows knit as he tried to understand what she could be doing as she continued to turn away, towards the opposite door.
"Wait. Where are you going?" His voice started to raise in volume as she clearly ignored him. "You're not finished yet! Hey!"
She gathered up her tools from the floor with a hum, before looking behind her shoulder to see the man sputtering in outrage. She gave him a clearly fake smile, her eyes gleaming dangerously.
"I quit. Sorry." She chirped happily as she slipped her tools back into her belt, before she gave him a quick wave. "But that's the thing though, I'm really not. I've got to run."
And she walked out of the room, the Lord speechless as she barked out a laugh, passing by the high priority clients on the way out. She pat one on the shoulder, giggling as the Lady gave her a confused glance at the obviously friendly gesture to a stranger.
She whistled a happy tune as she walked down the streets of downtown Sullec, repeating the Doctor Who Theme song as she kept bursting out in random laughter.
She was a new person, with a new future. A new past. A new her without having to regenerate. She was new, with a new purpose and a new voice. She would listen, she would hear the voices of those who wanted to help, who wanted to change it all.
She was The Calm, Time Lady of Gallifrey, and she was leaving her old timelines behind as they burned into dust.
Watch her run. Watch her, everyone beyond the veil, everyone who ever spoke the Doctor's name in happiness, in love, in hate, in anger, in sadness, in confusion, and in hope. Who knew him by his name, by his deeds, by his life.
Because she would change it all.
A/N: Soooo, hi. Hello. Um, what's up? That's the end of Chapter one. Now, onto the next one!
Please Review and tell me what you think? If you don't, how am I supposed to know what the hell I'm doing that you guys like or not?