Characters: The Doctor (10), Rose Tyler
Rating: T
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance (possibly, in the future)
A/N: I hope this turns out okay. It started out as a random thought and then grew from there. I have no idea how long it will be, probably 4 chapters or so unless I get more ideas. I want it to be somewhat episodic.
P.S. set mid-season 2...ish
Teaser: First, the people disappeared…and then the sky turned red…and then the war decimated the lands…and then things got really bad.
RED SKY IN THE MORNING
Chapter One: Worst Case Scenario
They rode. The Four Horsemen rode. In their wake, the children screamed, and the mothers wept. The land died, and the livestock lied down, and the Sun would not show its face. The sky turned red and the oceans cried. And space watched as the world bled. The Earth choked on the blood of its own people and the only witness to its suicide was a dreaming girl who lived outside of time. A girl whom had swallowed the whole of space and time, and could only remember its horrors in a forgotten sleep.
When Rose entered the consol room, she wasn't surprised to see that the Doctor was already there. Just the day before they had managed to escape from a set of Jaxtrathorns trying to usurp the throne of the true Mendraglian prince. If the Jaxtrathorns had succeeded, a universal war would have broken out and all planets of 2871 could have been decimated. Thankfully, the Doctor had managed to make a nuisance of himself and saved the prince, and consequently, his throne. However, before any of that had happened, they had managed to get caught by the Jaxtrathornian insurrectionists, and Rose had spent the majority of her time as a prisoner fighting for her life. When they had finally returned to the TARDIS, Rose had gone straight to bed, and had proceeded to sleep for quite sometime. She had urged the Doctor to rest as well, and if his rumpled suit was anything to go by, and the fact that his jacket was on the railing where he had left it the night before, he had not listened to her.
The man (or alien, she corrected to herself) in question was currently deep underneath the TARDIS consol, his sonic screwdriver in his mouth, shirtsleeves rolled up, and his hands and arms deeply embedded in the wiring. He was humming a familiar tune and apparently hadn't noticed her entrance.
"I never took you for a Lea Salonga fan," Rose said, giggling slightly and announcing her presence.
The Doctor sat up quickly, hitting his head on the grills of the floor above him and letting out a mild curse. Rose stuck out a hand to help him up, and when he was standing, he placed a hand to his forehead and winced slightly. "Ouch," he muttered.
Rose just laughed at him and the Doctor couldn't help but pout slightly. "Well, it hurt!" he exclaimed defensively. "The only thing that's whacked my head as hard as that grating was your mum's slap. My skin is very fragile, you know!"
"Yeah, yeah. You and your poor, little face with fleshy cheeks," Rose said, putting on a baby voice and pulling on his cheeks.
"Rose, can you stop pulling on my cheeks? My face is going numb."
She released his cheeks and sat down on the tiny couch, propping her feet up on the consol. "Really though…you were singing Lea Salonga," she said, her tongue sticking out her teeth in the way that usually meant she was about to take the mickey out of him.
"Yeah, so?"
"Isn't that a little…I don't know. Girly?"
"She happens to be quite talented, you know. And for your information, although her rendition is the best, she's not the only person to have sung that song."
"True, but I never took you for a unrequited love ballad kind of guy. You're more of a punker in my mind."
"That doesn't mean I can't listen to some good show tunes now and again. And Les Miserables happens to be a classic, I'll have you know. Why, it remains popular even unto 6798 when Broadway tunes are banned. They make a special exception for Les Miserables because, by that time, they have forgotten it's not true history, and the people of 6798 were real sticklers for their history. Wanted to know everything, they did. They never could grasp the fact that history is written by the people who win the wars and is entirely subjective."
"It's not so much that you were singing Les Miserables, Doctor, but that you were singing 'On my Own.' I mean, that's a girl's song, right? I always figured you'd sing the revolutionary song."
"Oh, I would, but 'On my Own' is the best song in the world when you see it done in the theatre. Whoever plays Eponine has to have a strong voice and a lot of passion to do that role. It's quite a sight to see. Especially on the 30th year anniversary performance."
"Who plays Eponine then?"
"No idea," the Doctor admitted, pulling on his ear sheepishly. "But, I can tell you this. The show was so popular on New York's Broadway that it ran for 6 years non stop--all the way from 2015 to 2021--every night, sold out."
"That really does sound quite amazing," Rose admitted.
"Hey, we should go? What do you say? Broadway, New York in 2017?"
Rose thought it over for a minute. It would be nice not to have to spend the day running for her life. And she had never seen a high profile show on stage before. And New York would be a great place to do some shopping. She was decided.
"I'm in. Definitely."
"Great. Just give me a few minutes to set the coordinates and we'll be there."
Rose stood still for a minute as an odd feeling of foreboding washed over her. Flashes from her dream the night before ripped through her head.
A blood red sky. Screaming all around her. The four horseman riding, leaving creation devastated in their wake. All the children, gone with the mothers weeping. And an emptiness like she'd never known.
Rose shook off the feeling as the Doctor started yelling at her to pull this lever and press that button. By the time they had landed the TARDIS, Rose had convinced herself that what she had felt had been nothing but a chill.
"You're going to love this, Rose. Seriously. The sets are amazing. I mean, it's supposed to look like France in the 1800's and the architecture is to die for. And you've worn outfits like their costumes before, so you know how amazing those are," the Doctor chatted, pulling his overcoat on.
"Not too amazing, Doctor. They're not comfortable at all. Corsets crush the ribs and those long skirts are hell to walk in, I'll have you know. You should try wearing a costume like it one day."
"The people are peasants. They don't have to wear corsets, Rose. And I would never wear a corset, it'd do nothing for my…figure." The Doctor was barely able to finish his sentence as he stepped out of the TARDIS. Rose followed suit behind him, and felt her legs collapse at what she saw.
The world they came to was most definitely not New York. It couldn't be. The city looked deserted, and for good reason. The buildings were dilapidated--most were barely standing, and what had to have once been majestic skyscrapers were reduced to heaps of rubble. There was a stench of death in the air; not the copper scent of blood that the Doctor and Rose were all too acquainted with, but the smell of rotting flesh and decaying skin. There was no grass or trees; there was only dirt and clay. The wind was blowing around them in a cold breeze and swirling the dead dust around their feet.
But what really caught Rose's eye was the sky. It was red. As far as her eye could see, there were no clouds, and no trace of blue or of stars. Just red. It wasn't even the comforting red of a sunset or a sunrise. It was the colour of blood. And then Rose noticed something even more disturbing.
"Doctor, where's the Sun?"
The Doctor looked up as well. His eyes scanned the heavens, and Rose was not able to find any comfort in his expression as he looked back to her.
"It's gone. From the looks of it, completely wiped out."
"Then, what's causing the red sky? Was there a nuclear war or something?"
"It wasn't a war. The TARDIS could get no trace of radiation. Whatever caused this, it was atmospheric."
"Well, where are we? I mean, it's not New York, at least not as early as 2017. So, where and when are we?"
The Doctor glanced at his watch, something that she had noticed his past incarnation do almost habitually, but a habit that this Doctor had never showed before now.
"Oh, it's much worse than a wrong place or time, Rose. Much, much worse. The real problem is we're exactly where we're supposed to be."
Maybe what she had felt in the TARDIS had been more than a chill after all.