AU Doomsday
The start of my new Season 3 AU where Rose doesn't get sucked into the void. This isn't actually part of Season 3, I know, but I need to show it in order to tie up loose ends. It's just my thing.
"When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?"
The Doctor's instructions were all a daze as Rose got prepared to open the Void. Her eyes were trained to the sky around the Canary Wharf tower, where four Daleks had come to a hovering stop in front of a nearby window. "So are they." She replies earnestly. As The Doctors gaze moved to the window, a chorus of "EXTERMINATE!" could be heard through the glass. Focusing back on Rose, The Doctor cries "let's do it!" and they simultaneously push the levers upwards before scrambling to grab hold of their magnaclamps.
Through the rushing of the wind quickly filling the chamber, the computer could be heard saying "online." Just then the wind picked up considerably as it was joined by a blinding light signaling the opening of the Void.
As Dalek and Cybermen alike were sucked past Rose and the Doctor into the Void, their grips never faltered. Their gaze broken only by the occasional glance out the window at the ever dwindling stream of metal careening towards the room. In the distance, the Doctor can just make out the forms of the Genesis Ark and Dalek Sek. Suddenly, Dalek Sek vanishes into nothing and the Genesis Ark flies towards the tower. It clangs noisily about the rift chamber, and knocks into Rose's lever before disappearing forever. Rose can just make out the drone of the computer saying "offline" before she reaches across towards the lever, still clinging to her magnaclamp.
The Doctor looks at her, horror and fear plainly displayed on his face, only to hear Rose shouting "I've gotta get it upright!" Yet already the wind was slowing, causing him to cry out "leave it! The Genesis Ark is already gone, no more Daleks can get out. Just don't let go!" Rose nodded in understanding before returning both of her hands to her magnaclamp. "This is it Rose, Hold on!" she hears before a sudden and final blast of wind buffets the room as the Void's light dims, finally closing on itself. As they both exhaled the breath they didn't know they were holding, Rose lets out a shaky laugh before collapsing into a hug.
"Take me back! Take me back!" Jackie cries hysterically, pounding on the wall where the parallel universe's Void would have been located. Jake and Mickey look on helplessly as a grief-stricken Jackie shrugs off Pete, who had come up to her with a look of pity clearly written across his face.
Jake looks to Jackie and says "it's stopped working. He did it. He closed the breach." As she wordlessly slams her hand down on her transport button repeatedly. Upon hearing this, she slams he button on the ground, breaking it, and presses up against the wall, mouthing 'Rose…'
As Rose breaks away from the Doctor's grip, her relieved smile fades almost instantly. "my Mum, and Mickey, and Pete…" she says, not really asking a question, but demanding an answer nonetheless. "They're trapped, stuck forever in the parallel world." The Doctor replies, his features softening into a gentle look of regret.
Upon hearing this, Rose's face contorted into an expression of misery. As she walks towards the wall, her hands cover her mouth and a single silent, tear streamed down her face. When she got to the wall, The Doctor lingering behind her, unsure of what to do, she first presses her hand against the wall, then her forehead.
Almost as if she can feel her daughter's presence on the other side, Jackie leans her face against the wall, her palm matching Rose's, and she continues to sob uncontrollably. She stays there for what seems like a century, before finally settling back onto the floor. This time it is Mickey who joins her, not with condolences, but sitting with her in silence as they grieve over the girl they both lost.
When Rose finally leans away from the wall, she starts to sink to the ground, but The Doctor grabs her, hugging her close and rubbing soothing circles on her back. Once she appears to have regained most of her composure, he looks down on her and says "there might be a way for you to see them, one last time. It won't be easy, and I can't promise that it will work, but we can try." Rose lets out a small sniffle before replying "how? I thought the Void was sealed off." The Doctor gives a small smile as he responds "It is, but we can still transmit an image across the barriers. You can have one last conversation. It will use up massive amounts of energy, and you won't have much time, but it's all I can give you."With those words Rose smiled for the first time since the Void was closed, and in a small voice exclaimed "then let's do it. Tell me how it works."
'Mum…' whispered Rose from the TARDIS as Jackie Tyler woke up, looking around confused, before she remembered her surroundings. She whimpered as she thought about how realistic her dream had been last night. She had revisited Canary Wharf, only to feel the heart-wrenching pain of losing her daughter all over again. She sighed, deeming it impossible to keep her nightmares away for long, and was about to tuck under her covers when she heard it again. 'Mum… Darlig Ulv Stranden… The beach…' Jackie was upright in an instant, and shaking the shoulder of her step-husband in the next. "Pete!" She cried out. "It's a sign! Rose sent me a sign!"
Pete woke with a "hrumph?" soon after, and before he could get a word in edgewise, Jackie had dialed Mickey's number and was shouting at his answering machine, screeching something about a dream that wasn't a dream, Rose, and a beach. After finally convincing her to settle down and rest, promising to talk to Mickey in the morning, Pete settled back into bed, only to have Jackie whisper in his ear moments later "I just heard it again, she says four-thirty tomorrow. I think that's when we have to be on the beach." With a sigh, he replied "go to sleep Jacks, I promise we'll figure this out in the morning." Before turning on his side and slipping back into dreamland.
'Mum…' Jackie whirled around on the beach for a third time that afternoon, only to see the same old sand as before, stretching out for miles before hitting the bay's rocky cliffs. Turning back to face Mickey and Pete, she wondered why they had traveled so far, only to reach a barren coastline.
Mickey had been complacent enough earlier that day, agreeing that it was definitely a sign from Rose and The Doctor, but now he was starting to look a little wary. Pete's cheery outlook had faded quickly too, but then he hadn't known The Doctor like her. As the time slowly ticked closer and closer to five o'clock, Jackie seemed to deflate as well, fearing it was all just a dream.
Suddenly she feels, rather than hears, a shimmering coming from behind her. Whipping her head back towards the water, she inhales sharply as she sees the static-y shapes of Rose and The Doctor. She can just make out Rose muttering "late again… waiting Doctor!" before he nods his head in Jackie's direction, and Rose's head immediately snaps up to meet her mother's gaze.
"wha- where are you?" Jackie chokes out breathlessly, taking in the sight in front of her. "Inside the TARDIS" The doctor replies meekly, before differing back to Rose for elaboration. She looks at her mom in earnest, before explaining "there's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection, we're in orbit around a super nova." She laughs quietly before continuing. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."
"Oi! I'm the one who locked the stabilizers!" The Doctor butts in quickly before Rose sends him a death glare that translates to 'not now.' Jackie shakes her head, disbelief in her eyes. "You look like a ghost." The Doctor quickly turns around, fiddling with the controls Jackie cannot see, giving a quick "hold on…" over his shoulder. Jackie could hear the soft hum of the sonic screwdriver before he turned around, looking solid now, without even the slightest whisper of static.
Even though she knows they aren't really there, Jackie slowly moves forward, bringing her hand out in front of her asking "can I t-"
"We're still just an image. No touch." And Jackie swears she heard regret in his voice, as if he really missed her famous Tyler slap. As Rose looks on sorrowfully, Jackie can feel tears starting to sting the corners of her eyes. Trying to keep her voice in check, she asks "can't you come through properly?" This time it's Rose who answers, a solemn look on her face as she explains "the whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."
"oh." Is all Jackie can manage before Rose lets out as small smile and just stares at her. Jackie gazes back, as if trying to memorize every pore in her daughters face. The Doctor looks around at the sandy shores surrounding them before asking "where are we? Where did the gap come out?" Rose finally breaks her stare to turn to the doctor and reply "we're in Norway." "Norway, right." The Doctor says, looking puzzled at Rose's choice of destination.
"About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Darlig Ulv Stranden'." Jackie supplies, looking past her daughter at The Doctor now, waiting to see his reaction. "Dalek?" he exclaims, surprised, as he looks at Rose in abject horror. Rose quickly tries to calm his features with the correction "DARL-IG. It's Norwegian for bad." However, her explanation does little to calm his features, so she continues. "This translates to 'Bad Wolf Bay'." The Doctor's expression immediately softens as recognitions sweeps across his features. They share a small laugh before Rose turns back to her mother, who has a single tear streaming down her face.
"How much time have we got?" asks Rose, turning back to the Doctor. "About two minutes…" he answers, diverting his gaze downwards as Rose looks back to Jackie. "I can't think of what to say!" Jackie exclaims, tears streaming down her face as she lets out a laugh that quickly turns to a sob. Rose gives a half hearted laugh as well, letting a few tears creep down her features. She quickly tries to hide the fact by turning towards Mickey and Pete, who are standing in from of a Jeep. "You've still got Pete, then?" she questions, still avoiding eye contact.
"It's just the four of us now," Jackie replies. "Pete, Mickey and me… and the baby." at this last remark Rose whips her head up to face her mother. "You're not…" she whispers, her mouth parting slightly in surprise. "Yeah, I'm three months in. More Tylers on the way." She lets out a small smile and Rose joins her, basking in the pleasure of her new revelation. "So then are you…" Rose queries, trailing off, hoping her mother will understand where her question was going. "Nope, lady of leisure now, just lounging about the house all day. That and the party planning keeps me plenty busy." Jackie replies, instantly latching on to her daughter's train of thought. "Just like you always wanted." Rose says with a smile, and they both laugh at the truth of it.
As their laughter dies down they stare at each other for a moment longer, neither saying a word. The Doctor uses this moment to pipe up and tell Jackie and Mickey the aftermath of the war back on his universe. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on the list of the dead." At the mention of this both Jackie and Rose look over at the Doctor. Jackie starts sobbing quietly, while Rose gives him a death glare. She turns to her mom and tries to comfort her by saying "but here you are. Living a life day after day. The one adventure we can't have." She concludes, pointing between The Doctor and herself. However, this only prompts Jackie to cry harder as she realizes that this could very well be her last time to see Rose.
"Am I ever gonna see you again?" she sputters between sobs. "You can't." Rose replies, dropping her gaze to scuff her feet against the TARDIS floors. "What're you gonna do?" she asks, this time directing her attention not on Rose but The Doctor, as if questioning his loyalty to her daughter. "Oh, we've got the TARDIS. Same old life. Last of the Time Lords and his faithful companion. Don't worry Jackie, I'll take good care of her, I promise." He declares as he wraps his arm around Rose's waist, pulling her closer.
Turning back to Rose, she starts to speak, tears streaming down her face as her body shook from the sobs tearing through her body. "I lo- I love you." She manages to choke out before her tears overtake her again. Rose looks at her, smiling weakly. "Mum… I'm going to miss you. And I suppose if it's my last chance to say it, mom… I l-"
Suddenly Rose and The Doctor were back in the TARDIS, as Rose stood still wrapped in the doctors arms, she whispered "love you…" before bursting into tears for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Suddenly she heard The Doctor screech "what?" and as she pulled away she saw was the only thing that could've confused her even more. Turning around in front of them was a bride, complete with the veil and everything.
Rose let out a tiny yelp of surprise and followed The Doctors example, giving the poor girl a "what?" before turning her questioning eyes towards The Doctor. The bride stood there for a moment, soaking in the situation, before retorting with a "who are you?" The doctor looked at her, mouth open, aghast, while Rose tried for a response to the bride's outburst. "But-" she was cut off by the bride, who was glowering at the pair, exclaiming "where am I?"The Doctor finally found his voice, only to give another non-helpful "what?" as the bride wheeled on him, shouting "what the hell is this place?" Rose exchanged a surprised glance with The Doctor, before they both replied "what?" in unison.
So here it is! Questions, comments, and review are always welcome! I can't promise The Runaway Bride Christmas extravaganza anytime soon, basically because it is such a long process to make one of these, this one took me a while, and I was just three or four scenes. But I'll try to work fast!
Thatnerdychic :]