Lady A: Hello everyone and welcome to Warrior Saga: Ember! Now, I know you guys are wondering why I am posting the second installment of the Warrior Saga before Rebirth is even finished. The answer is simple, though you don't know what happened during the Time War, I can still do the normal stuff with a few minor mentions here and there. Most of you will be like what the heck at the beginning of this chapter but just roll with it.
Looking Forward: Artimes Blaine, or should I say Artimes Tyler, grows up alongside the Doctor's first companion, Rose Tyler. So far, so obvious. Now, Artimes will have some very unusual encounters that will reveal several hints about her future and some about her past as well.
Now on with the show!
Chapter One: My Past Is Your Future
'People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.'
The Doctor had been right about time being a bit wonky, especially with her recent encounters but that didn't explain what had happened to her in the beginning. Her name was Artimes Blaine, at least it used to be. She was a twenty five year old woman with dark blonde hair and forest green eyes. She was tucked into her bed after watching a marathon of her favorite shows with her elder brother, Trinity, and she went to sleep. This is where her story goes completely mental…when she woke up the next morning.
Artimes had found herself in the body of an eight year old girl with auburn hair and had two streaks of platinum blonde in the front. Her forest green eyes had changed to sapphire blue as well. She had, what appeared to be, a bigger on the inside messenger bag that only she could see and dressed in a simple long sleeved shirt and pants. She had no recollection of how she ended up in an alleyway in London rather than in her bed in Tampa, Florida nor did she have any idea on how she was transformed from a twenty five year old woman into an eight year old child.
She spent months wandering around on her own, trying to survive the best she could. Her world went topsy turvy once again when she crossed paths with one Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler, known to the rest of the universe as Jackie Tyler and mother to Rose Tyler, first companion of the Doctor after the Time War.
Thus began the two year campaign of trying to find 'her family'. Artimes had lied and said that she didn't remember anything but that she knew her name was Artimes. Her problems escalated when no trace of her existence could be found in any database, both local and international. She simply didn't exist and because of her American accent, the social workers were thinking about deporting her rather than sticking her into the British child services. Jackie caught wind of this and gave them a living hell for three months straight. Finally it was decided by the elder Tyler that she would simply adopt Artimes and be done with it. That was how she became Artimes Tyler, elder sister to Rose Tyler who was now six years old while Artimes was ten.
Now most Whovians would be overjoyed to meet the incredible and fantastic Rose Tyler, but the now ginger was pretty certain that they wanted to meet the blonde as an adult, not as a child. Little Rose turned out to be the shy, quiet type with a fondness for fairy tales. She also didn't like science fiction, something about how aliens scared her. Oh, the irony of the entire situation.
Over the years, the two became good friends and were hardly seen from the other's company. Artimes took up the mantle of protector and defender to her now baby sister. When her Rosie was bullied at school, she not only defended her but taught the bullies a lesson in manners. When the blonde had trouble with her schoolwork, Artimes spent the painstakingly long hours teaching her how to do it. When ex boyfriends just couldn't take a hint and back off, the ginger learned martial arts and taught them a lesson they would never forget and sent a clear message to their peers: Harm Rose Tyler and sign your own death certificate.
In time, Rose grew out of her shyness and into the bold and confident woman that Artimes had seen from the show. There were some minor differences in her personality, mainly in relation to how she viewed her sister and what she would do for said sister. The duo were rarely separated, if ever, and Rose was always insisting that Artimes go everywhere with her, even to those horrendous parties that young people did. In the ginger's head, she was forty years old and she was physically only twenty three. She was frankly bored and slightly disgusted by the ever increasing range of vulgarity that would arise at these social get togethers.
It was December 31, 2004 and once again, Rose had dragged to yet another party. Near midnight, Artimes decided to leave, knowing Rose would go home shortly. The ginger knew that this was a very special night. It was the night that she would finally get proof about whether or not the Doctor was real. She had no doubt that Rose would tell her about the strange occurrence with a brown haired man in a suit tomorrow morning. She just wished she could be there to see him too, but it was best to avoid the temptation.
Artimes walked down the snowy street, shivering slightly from the wind. She glanced at her watch. It read 12:14 am, meaning it was New Year's Day. She was caught off guard when she heard a man grunting in pain. She whirled around quickly, slipping slightly in the snow. Her heart sped up at the sight of the Tenth Doctor leaning heavily against the brick wall of a building. Why was he there? He should have been with Rose, not her. She had to shove down every instinct she had to simply not run up to him and hold him.
She had always been able to read the Doctor like an open book and in that moment, she could see how much pain he was in, both physically and emotionally. She couldn't chance him learning about her foreknowledge just in case he didn't know, so she decided to follow the script for the scene.
"Are you alright?" She asked trying to sound slightly concerned rather than worried out of her mind.
"You and I both know what's happening, Artz." He answered shocking her.
Her eyes widened as he hunched over in pain. She couldn't stand seeing him like that so she threw caution to the wind and ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and they both slid to the ground, the Doctor sitting properly on the ground while she was stuck with one leg underneath her and the other slightly wrapped around him for stability.
"How did you know? Did I tell you?" She asked honestly confused.
"It's a long story and I can't explain most of it, but in the next few years that we are together, no you didn't tell me." He answered holding on to her arms and breathing heavily.
"Then how do you know?" She demanded wanting to know exactly how and when she told the Doctor so she could create a stable time loop.
He looked straight into her eyes, trying to get her to understand that he couldn't tell her.
"Spoilers?" She whispered and he nodded.
"Why are you alone? What happened to me and don't even think about lying. I know you too well for that to work." She continued becoming increasingly worried about how warm he felt.
He was far too hot and it was either due to the radiation he absorbed to save Wilfred or from his soon to be regeneration. He pulled her into a hug, his scorching hot skin pressing against her own chilled skin and she felt him silently sobbing. She swallowed hard, realizing that whatever had happened to her, it must have been really, really bad.
"Tell me…please." She urged.
"I left you. I left you behind…I abandoned you in 2059." He answered his voice thick with emotions.
"The Waters of Mars, Captain Adelaide Brooke, and the Timelord Victorious." She replied, "Why did you leave me behind?"
He took in a shuddering breath, most likely remembering what he had done.
"The last remnant of who I was wanted to save you…save you from myself, but it didn't matter. You still…"He responded stopping as he rode out another wave of pain.
"What happened to me, Theta?" Artimes demanded brushing her fingers through his damp hair, trying to soothe him as best she could.
"Caan, he warned me. He said the Children of Time would gather and the most faithful of them all would die." The Doctor answered.
"Donna." She responded instantly, remembering what happened in Journey's End.
"No, there's more. He said 'On the day of victory, one will still die." He replied pulling back to look at her, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
She stared at him in confusion. He had said that he abandoned her, but Caan said one would die on the day of victory. How did that even compute? What the hell happened to her?
"You left me, Theta. You didn't kill me." She countered trying to sort out all the information he was giving her.
"I killed you in the worst way possible, but it doesn't matter because I'm going to change it. I will save you." He stated firmly.
What did he mean, 'the worst way possible'? He wasn't making any sense. All the information she was getting was contradicting itself. Did she die or didn't she? She was so damn confused, but she needed to stop him from altering his own past.
"No, Theta, you can't. You'll be crossing into your own timeline. You'll punch a hole in the universe, reality will collapse. I'm not worth it!" She replied.
"You are always worth it!" He countered angrily, his eyes blazing.
"Why?" She demanded tears beginning to form in her eyes, "Tell me why I'm worth destroying the universe for."
He leaned forward and whispered something into her ear. It was kind of long, twenty eight syllables roughly, but the language was unlike anything she had ever heard before. It sounded so ancient and yet powerful, floating through the air like a song or a hymn. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as realization dawned on her face. He pulled back, his chocolate brown eyes full of warmth and love. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart pounded harshly in her chest.
"Was that…that was…why?" She asked completely blinded sided by what he had just done.
He gave her his trademark charming smile, making her blush.
"You know why." He answered softly.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and before she could stop herself, she slammed her lips onto his. The kiss was deep and desperate, heartfelt and full of longing and promise. They broke apart as he grunted in pain, his entire body going rigid.
"You don't have much time." She whispered her eyes never leaving his, "I don't want you to be alone."
"I won't be. You'll be there." He replied stroking her face.
"I can't change your mind, can I? You're gonna go through with it." She asked already knowing the answer.
He kissed her again, softly and far more gentle than before.
"My Artz." He whispered almost reverently.
"My Theta." She replied.
"Run. Run, you clever girl, and remember me." He spoke softly.
She stared at him, her face blank from shock. She had heard those words before, but not from him. Those words rattled her to her very core.
"Go. Go now. Run!" He ordered pushing her away.
She rose to her feet, her hands still holding his. She couldn't just leave him. It went against everything inside her to just abandon him, especially while he was in so much pain.
"I…I can't. I can't leave you. Not like this." She replied tears continuing to fall.
His expression softened and his eyes shined with gratitude.
"You have to. You've got all that to come. You and me, time and space…you watch us run." He responded smiling at her.
She let out a weak chuckle, a small smile making its way onto her lips.
"Now I know the world is ending, because you're quoting River." She countered cheekily.
He chuckled softly at that.
"Seemed appropriate." He replied.
She stared at him sadly, her heart and mind in chaos, before leaning down and kissing him one last time. She pulled back slightly, her lips still hovering above his.
"I love you, Theta. Always have and always will. Remember that." She spoke softly.
The Doctor pulled her forward in to a bruising kiss that would undoubtedly leave her lips swollen and red. It lasted for a good thirty seconds. She pulled away harshly, forcing herself away from him, and wiping away her tears.
"See you soon, Spaceman." She said giving him a wide grin before turning around and running away.
She thought she heard him say 'I love you' but she chalked it up to her imagination, knowing that this particular regeneration could never say it, and ran all the way back to the Powell estate. She didn't bother going up to the flat, instead she ran around it several times. She was doing everything she could to force herself to forget how she just left him there on his own. She didn't feel the cold seeping deep into her core or the wind stinging harshly on her face. She didn't even feel how her legs began to ache or how her lungs were burning from the exertion.
At around 4:30 in the morning, her run was interrupted by her slamming into someone. She had started to apologize to the person but all words died in her throat when she looked up. Standing before her was the Eleventh regeneration of the Doctor. He was smiling at her and his eyes were soft and warm.
"Theta." She said breathlessly, her breath coming out in thick white puffs.
"You've been running for the last four hours in the cold. You're gonna make yourself sick." He said softly, his tone kind and filled with worry.
"I just did something I thought I would never do. I ran away from you. I think I'm entitled to this brief span of stupidity." She replied making him smile at her, "Did your plan work? Did you save me?"
She couldn't recognize the emotions that flitted across his eyes. There were simply too many all merged together at once.
"Yes and no. Turns out, you didn't need saving and in the end, you saved me…like you always do." He answered shaking his head slightly at the memory.
Artimes let out a relieved laugh as she hugged the bow tie wearing Timelord. He hugged her in return, his arms wrapped around her tightly like he never wanted to let her go. She listened to his hearts beating and relished that sound.
"Am I still with you?" She asked after a while.
"You're always with me, Artz. You refuse to leave my side no matter what I say or do. You're very stubborn about that." He answered his tone light and amused.
She giggled.
"Definitely sounds like me. Where are we in your timeline?" She asked.
"Just sent the Ponds home after their rather interesting honeymoon and yes, I know a little about what is going to happen. You don't tell me a lot, but you do tell me what I need to know and slap me when I ask for too much." He answered.
Artimes laughed at the image of her slapping him and pulled back from him.
"Do I at least get a kiss before you leave?" She asked hopefully, batting her eyelashes at him.
He blushed slightly before smiling at her, his eyes bright and happy.
"Anything for my Artz." He answered before claiming her mouth with his.
The kiss was far more tender and gentle than the one she had shared with Ten a few hours ago. This one was full of such love and devotion that it made her dizzy with questions…like how they even got together in the first place. Hey, she was not looking a gift horse in the mouth. She thoroughly enjoyed kissing the Doctor and had had fifteen years to tamp down her inner fan girl. There was a clear distinction between fiction and reality for her. This was real life and she was a part of it, but it still didn't change how she felt about this impossible mad man. Her feelings for him had deepened since she had woken up in this world. She couldn't explain it and she honestly didn't care to.
The two finally separated and he leaned his forehead against hers.
"There is so much I want to tell you." He started.
"Spoilers." She interjected making him chuckle.
"Now Artz, this is important. When my past self shows up at your flat, stay with him. Be persistent, don't let him go into the Tardis alone, and Sexy will take care of the rest." He continued taking her hands in his and lifting his forehead off of hers.
She frowned in confusion, her brows furrowing. That was his great plan…leaving it up to the Old Girl to keep them together? She mentally sighed and decided to just go with it. There was no point in arguing and Sexy knew the Doctor better than she did.
"Okay. Basically, get in between a boy and his box, right?" She asked seeking clarification.
He beamed at her like an idiot then kissed her again. His hands, which were around her waist, began to move on their own accord and rove over her body in very enticing ways. The heat began to coil in her lower body and she was increasingly getting warmer and a bit more demanding. He continued his ministrations until someone cleared their throat conspicuously.
"Do you mind not molesting my younger self in the middle of a public street, Theta?" A woman spoke.
The Doctor released the ginger quickly and whirled around.
"Artz, what are you doing here? He asked blushing brightly.
Artimes studied the woman in front of her. Her clothes were very similar to something that the ginger would wear, so there wasn't that much in deviation. Her physical features were not really different from her own, but she did appear to be a few years older. Her hair was a dark read instead of the medium auburn it was now. Her eyes were royal blue as opposed to her current sapphire blue ones and instead of two platinum blond streaks in the front of her hair, it was two silver ones.
One thing stood out above all else, her eyes. Not the color, but the look of them. The eyes of her future self seemed so much older, ancient like the Doctor's. There was so much knowledge there but also wisdom. Shadows seemed to dance within her eyes like echoes of days long past…just like the Doctor. It was those eyes that made her seem so foreign to her present self.
"Simply doing what I remembered, you clot. Now come on, you promised me that we would visit Sherlock and John after we dropped off the Ponds." Her older self answered giving the Timelord a pointed look.
"Whoa, hold on. Time out. Sherlock and John are real?" Artimes interjected making a time out gesture with her hands.
Her older self grinned, her eyes dancing with amusement.
"Oh yes. Bit of a long story. It cannot be told." She started.
"It must be lived." Artimes finished smiling.
Her older self began to drag the Doctor away without another word.
"Just one more question." Artimes stated drawing the pair's attention back to her.
She looked into her older self's eyes and simply had to ask the question that was burning in her mind.
"Am I still me?" The ginger asked looking straight at her older self.
A pained and sad look crossed the Doctor's face, but her older self smiled at her reassuringly.
"We've been through a lot, much more than we should have, but overall yes, you are still you when you are me and don't let this clot convince you otherwise because he doesn't know a damn thing." She answered jerking a thumb at the Doctor playfully.
Artimes smiled at them.
"Say hello to Sherlock and John for me and if Mycroft happens to be there, whack him in the head with his umbrella." The ginger replied smirking.
This made both the Doctor and her future self laugh happily.
"She does it enough as is." The Timelord mentioned.
"Oi! Spoilers!" Both present and future Artimes scolded.
"Okay, on that note, time for us to leave. Dealing with one of you is bad enough, but two is simply asking way too much of this old man." The Doctor commented trying to usher her future self away.
"Now where would the fun in that be?" They asked in unison.
They grinned at each other making the Timelord moan in defeat. Artimes watched her future self pull the Doctor away and into the Tardis. The magical blue box that the red head loved so much disappeared into nothingness. The auburn haired woman looked up at the lightening sky, a soft smile on her lips. Time travel was definitely like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff and yet it certainly made her life more interesting and just a tiny bit fun.
Lady A: There you have it! Chapter 1: My Past Is Your Future is complete! Originally, it only had the one Doctor showing up, but as I continued writing the chapter, Eleven suddenly popped up and sort of inserted himself into the chapter. Also, the relationship is not moving too fast because both Ten and Eleven were from the future and well Artimes just loves him anyway. Why do you think she didn't have a boyfriend back in the other reality? No man could compare to the Doctor. *grins* Anyways, leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter Two: Artz and Rose! Stay tuned!