Title: Key 2 Time 2: Part 1: On The Other Side
Author: lallafangirls
Rating: T
Characters: Romana III (who resembles tromana) and Amy (who resembles sneakyangel).
Summary: Romana III is left to clean up after the Doctor, again.
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: Its probably a good thing that neither of us own Doctor Who...
Notes: This is what happens when two bored (yet flailing excitably anyway) fangirls start writing about something that hasn't been released yet
Key 2 Time 2: Part 1: On The Other Side
She couldn't believe they had left her
She was barely hours old; the only person she had ever known was her sister. Something had told her she needed to find a man. The Doctor. They'd both been thrilled when he turned up, seconds after their creation. Still, she couldn't believe they had left her. Dumped her unceremoniously on a deserted planet where there were no other life forms whatsoever. She had noticed that her sister had been acting strangely, but she never thought she would do this. But sitting around on this deserted planet, moping would not help her. The occupants of Grello had recently left this doomed planet, so Amy managed to rig up some sort of crystal vid-communicator and sent out her message. She could only hope that she would get some kind of response.
Romana, newly regenerated, was pacing around her room. Maybe it was something to do with it only being the second time she had regenerated, and last time she broke in her body by scrabbling around Skaro. However, she had been trapped on Gallifrey for quite some time. Sometimes, she felt she would never escape again. A political loop-hole had been found that prevented her leaving except in dire emergency. She was expecting to hear from Braxiatel any time now. He was late. Romana always found it ironic that Time Lords were never on time. Her screen crackled into life.
"Braxiatel? There's no need to tell me you're going to be late. I already know."
Romana didn't even bother to look at the screen.
"Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello?"
A pale skinned, brown haired woman appeared on the screen. She was certainly not Braxiatel! Romana spun around to look squarely at it, at the young woman looking hopefully out of it.
"Hello, who are you? How did you get through here? I thought this was a secure line."
"My name is Amy. I'm on Grelloand I have no way of leaving. I need rescuing. Who are you?"
"I am President Romanadvoratrelundar of Gallifrey."
"Gallifrey? Romana?" Bells were ringing in Amy's memory; she just couldn't put her finger on what.
"That's President Romanadvoratrelundar or Madam President to you."
"Of course! You're Romana! You know the Doctor!" Amy remembered. "You can definitely help me."
"The Doctor?" Romana said, apprehensively. She had the sinking feeling this would not bring good news. "How do you know the Doctor?"
"Well he is meant to be my companion, helping me to locate the segments to the Key to Time, but he didn't like the idea of being the companion, so he ran off with my twin!" Amy gushed; it felt good to talk to another being again after so long.
"That's so typical him." Romana replied. Key to Time, she thought, why does the White Guardian want the Key to Time again? And why was she not informed? "He doesn't like the idea of being second to anyone" even me, she added, silently.
Amy smiled, "I noticed that! He also seemed very reluctant to accept me and this mission."
"That's exactly what happened last time. I was his companion the first time he was sent to find the Key. Have you met the younger version of me yet?"
"No." Amy replied. She couldn't understand why Romana was being so chatty; according to the Doctor she had been rather frosty most of the time. She just wanted to get off this planet and Romana was her ticket out. "I have no way of travelling to the segments without the Doctor's TARDIS."
"If I wasn't stuck on Gallifrey, I would pick you up so we can show him what for. Unfortunately, since the Time War, they haven't let me leave. Apparently I'm the answer to all their problems."
Not only is she frosty but thinks highly of herself too, Amy noted. "They must think very highly of you, the only Time Lord they trust," Amy thought it would be best to sweeten Romana up, after all, she had learnt the hard way how sensitive Time Lord egos are. "And you know how to control the Doctor, something the others have never been able to do. I need to gather the segments of the Key to Time before the Black Guardian gets them."
"Unfortunately, now, I think it's more of a case that they think I fuel his misbehaviour. Or I'll turn renegade again if I leave again. If I talk to Brax and Narvin... I'm sure there'll be a way to slip away..."
"He didn't seem too bad when I met him. Rather nice actually - and very easy on the eyes!. Maybe you are a bad influence!" Amy said, jokingly.
"Hey! Do you want this lift or not?"
Amy realised she had overstepped the line. "I'm sorry. Yes please."
Romana smiled, "I have to admit, I was rather fond of his Fourth and Eighth regenerations. His Eight was very pretty. The Sixth would have been fine if he hadn't had a distinct lack of taste in clothing. It looked like he'd been in an explosion at a paint factory! I haven't seen his latest, although I understand he has regenerated twice since I last saw him."
Phew! Amy thought, she hadn't blown her one chance of leaving Grello. "There is more than one Doctor? I wonder which one I met. Young, blond, likes to wear vegetables."
"That will be his Fifth regeneration; I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting that one." There was a knock at Romana's door. "Enter" she said automatically.
Or had she? Romana rubbed her temples. She was sure that she had met that Doctor. And that she'd dealt with the business of the Key to Time, twice. Amy's face, after all had been strangely familiar. She was sure she'd met her before… but hadn't. A headache, infuriatingly, was building up. All to frequently, it happened now, but never as bad as this.
"What?" Amy said, very confused.
"Stay there," Romana instructed, "I won't be long, I hope."
Braxiatel entered, followed by Narvin. Romana quickly explained the situation with Amy. Narvin and Braxiatel looked slightly worried, but for very different reasons, as they left the room to follow Romana's new instructions. Romana turned back to Amy, "Narvin is being as stubborn as ever. Brax is willing to help though. Probably because he can see something in it for himself but there's a threat to the web of time, he's willing to let us go to rescue you. They are preparing the battle TARDIS as we speak."
Amy felt relieved by this, "HURRY UP! Darkness is coming and it gets so very, very cold."
"I'll warn you now, when you do travel with the Doctor, he's a far worse pilot of a TARDIS - and his machine is ancient. Even in his Fifth incarnation." Romana said, recalling her experiences with the Doctor piloting, all those rough landings and the one perfect landing made when she piloted the TARDIS. Romana smiled.
Amy laughed, "I didn't travel with him for long, but I couldn't help but notice the rather rough landings. You could teach me how to fly the TARDIS, and then the Doctor will truly be my companion! Give his ego a bit of a knock. I don't know how he manages to land it; pieces were falling of the console!"
"Part of the reason his TARDIS is falling to pieces is the owner, believe me. When I travelled with him, (well the first time), he installed a randomiser. I know it was for our own good, but it was still irritating - and we frequently overrode it anyway. The Doctor always liked to think he knew best. When I had control of a tracer and was searching for the Key to Time, he rarely believed I was telling him the correct co-ordinates. He eventually learned to trust me, though, in fact so much so, we nearly... no. That's for another time."
"Ohhh sounds like a good story! Do tell!" Amy laughed, "I didn't spend long with him, but he didn't treat the TARDIS with much respect. Always hitting it. But I am a tracer; surely he should have known to trust me. I'm much more reliable than a stick."
"The Doctor is more interested in getting from A to B, figuratively speaking, in the quickest time possible. He doesn't much care about upkeep". He even jettisoned my room, she thought. "Well, the Doctor is untrustworthy by nature. Even of his own - especially of his own race. I'll let you figure out the problems that left me." Romana paused, "You're biologically human, aren't you? I can give it a go, but I've never known a human pick it up completely. You might be able to navigate some of the controls..."
"I am a tracer, but for all intents and purposes, I am biologically human. I had some sort of control over the Doctor's TARDIS, to locate the segments, but he always tried to override me. We wasted days on one of the moons of Arizonia because of the Doctor's ego!"
"A biological tracer?" Romana said, "I thought the Guardians learned after last time about fiddling with biological life in order to carry out their deeds. I should think that ability will allow you to have some sort of autonomic control of a TARDIS. I shall just have to teach you to take control of it."
"They must trust a living tracer to assemble and bring back the segments." Amy replied. "They are still angry that the Doctor broke the tracer and scattered the segments again."
"I'm still not all that impressed with what the Guardians have done to you; but yes your ability should be more reliable. Nothing there to break, or let the damp affect the internal wirings. Although, you might not find it all that pleasant." Romana heard a buzz from her door which informed her that the TARDIS was ready. "Anyway, Narvin has just organised a TARDIS, so I better get going. Apparently it's only a mark 78, but it's the best he could do, bless him. See you soon."
"A type 78 is better than a type 40! At least it should be more reliable!" Amy saw Romana lean forward to switch off the screen. "WAIT ROMANA!" She shouted, "What will it look like. The Doctor explained to me about the chameleon circuits so I know that not all TARDIS's look like his."
"As you're in a deserted place, I'd look out for a new tree - or maybe even just a grey box. Battle TARDISes have little imagination, after all."
"I'll keep looking for something new. Will it be long? The darkness is coming."
"We will be moments, but only if you let me get to the TARDIS."
"Sorry Romana and thank you."
Romana switched off the screen and left for the battle TARDIS. Once she arrived, she hooked up the TARDIS to feed on Amy's signal. The screen flickered into life as Amy's feed took hold of the battle TARDIS.
"Battle TARDISes," she hissed to no one in particular. "No personality, no imagination. Honestly, how we got by in the war with things like this…"
The TARDIS landed safely on Grello, as Romana furiously attacked buttons.
"Amy? Can you see anything new?"
"I can hear a noise that sounds like the TARDIS. I'll be seeing you soon then!"
Amy shut down the equipment and rushed outside the station, holding a hand to shade her eyes from the harsh light of the sunset. At the same point, Romana stepped outside of her TARDIS, relishing freedom for the first time in decades.
"Hello?"
"Romana? Hello?" Amy spotted a big grey box and ran eagerly over to it, stopping just in front of Romana's feet. She was shorter than she'd imagined. "Romana! I can't tell you how good it is to see another face again!"
"Hello," Romana paused. "Goodness, I can see what you mean about it getting very cold, very quickly. Let's get you inside."
"It gets much worse than this. It's only just started. You don't happen to have a hot drink in that TARDIS do you?"
Romana unlocked the door once again, slightly sorry to have to go inside such a sterile environment so quickly. The cold wouldn't bother her in the way that it would bother Amy, who was essentially human, and would simply be bracing to her.
"Of course. The food machine can make a healthy based alternative to whatever you want. It tastes perfectly adequate for what you want."
"Thank you as long as it doesn't give me leaves and berries. I'm sick of eating them!" Amy continued. "So are you taking me back to Gallifrey?"
"Of course not!" Romana scoffed. "This is the first time I've been free from the shackles of that place for decades. And as I said, it'll do whatever you like. So what exactly do you want? To eat that is."
"Something...tasty! I've had very little variety of food. Most of what I've had was from the Doctors TARDIS. Although I did have some very yummy plants when we were on Earth, briefly. I think the Doctor called it a salad?"
"A salad is very easy for this machine." She pressed a few buttons on the machine, as it quickly made a salad portion for one. "There you go."
Amy ate quickly and quietly, obviously having felt starved for quite some time. Romana, at a loss for what to do, had a cup of herbal tea whilst she contemplated their next move. After clearing away their dishes, she led Amy back to the control room.
"Where are we going then? To find the Doctor?"
"We can do that, or we could work on the Key to Time. If your twin sister and the Doctor are inadvertently working for the Black Guardian, we should really do something about it."
"I suppose we could find the remaining segments before the Doctor and my sister do." Amy mentioned it tentatively, she wasn't sure of the Time Lady's opinion of her. "What happened with the Black Guardian last time? The Doctor… didn't tell me."
"He tortured me… and the Doctor, I believe. We had death threats, hence the randomiser. The usual things when you're dealing with a Guardian." Romana paused, for breath. If she was going to go 'gallivanting' off with Amy, these were things she'd have to deal with. "Now tell me, can you sense any segments?"
"I think I can. Will this TARDIS listen to me? The Doctor's was reluctant to take instructions from me. I have to connect with the TARDIS to locate the planet." Before Romana could say anything, Amy quickly added. "But Romana, the Black Guardian? I hope he doesn't do anything like that to my sister or the Doctor. I know my sister was acting under his influence which is why she ran off with the Doctor and left me."
Romana took a deep breath as she inspected the controls of this TARDIS. She wasn't that familiar with this type, having worked principally on the grounds during the War. Mainly trying to find a truce with the Daleks, a hapless job. Still, at least they were unaware of Gallifrey's survival and they could now operate in peace. It still bemused her as to why the Doctor hadn't visited since then. Then again, she never tried that hard to understand him and his methods.
"Look, all I can say is don't keep your hopes up. The Black Guardian has already used his pawns to torture the Doctor in the past. And I have a feeling that he feels he has a score to settle with him... and me. It was probably him that set this up. As for this TARDIS, it has less of a... personality, shall we say? So it shouldn't be too much of a problem." Romana paused to adjust a few switches, to try to help her now-companion to communicate with the TARDIS. "If you need any help with controls, let me know."
"If my sister is under his influence, maybe that will be enough, he won't have to torture them?"
"Amy, please. Stop worrying about them. There is nothing we can do."
Romana rubbed her temples again. It felt like time was slipping away from her, like she couldn't keep hold of it. And the stress of it was making the headache thoroughly worse. If she could just hurry up and get time sorted out…
Amy took the TARDIS controls, and tentatively pressed a button which made the lights go out. A shock ran through her fingers and she fell over, scrabbling around in the darkness.
"Umm, Romana? Help?!"
"It's alright, it's alright. Here."
With speedy fingers, Romana quickly reversed the controls Amy had put into the TARDIS. The lights flickered back on and Amy stumbled back up, leaning heavily on the control panel. Romana had forgotten the reports that, whilst battle TARDISes were very effective for her own kind, they could be quite volatile to people who were not Time Lord.
"Would it help if I put the TARDIS in flight, and you subconsciously told it the co-ordinates?"
"Thanks Romana. I don't think this TARDIS likes me much either. I should be able to locate the segments approximate location once we are in flight."
"I think, it's more just the TARDIS isn't used to you." Or any human being, Romana thought. "Now, if you take hold of that switch, it'll make things a lot easier for me."
Amy grabbed hold of the switch indicated, slightly worried that something would go wrong again, as Romana moved the TARDIS moved into the vortex. The Time Lady stabilised it to allow Amy to concentrate. She didn't have any idea how difficult Amy would find locating segments. Although it was what she was created for, it must surely be a lot easier for a device to work on something like this than a sentient being?
"Now, do you feel anything?"
"Okay, let me concentrate."
Amy's mind flitted through time and space, searching out for the unique signals of the segments she instinctively knew were out there. Her face brightened as she located the approximate time frame for the first piece; the one with the strongest signal. All she had to do was communicate her thoughts to Romana, else they'd never move.
"Um, we need to travel into a future time. It feels like its several thousand years from where we are now. I can't get a read on the precise coordinates from here though."
"Okay."
Romana moved the TARDIS, automatically shoving Amy out of the way to reach certain controls, each accompanied with a whispered 'sorry'. Once in flight, the TARDIS lurched quite naturally a few thousand years into the future, feeding slightly on Amy's consciousness, as if it was aware that she was a tracer.
"Is this a suitable place to start from? Do we need to move any years forward or back?"
"No, no, this should be a good place."
Romana watched on warily as Amy started pressing buttons on the console, seemingly at random. She needed to keep an eye on her, in case she did something that could send the TARDIS into haywire. Needless to say, if anything happened to it, Narvin would be fuming as it would be an even larger cover-up than was already necessary.
"Three-Zero-Five-Five-Two-Delta Minus-Negative Three!" Amy announced, almost proudly. "Do those co-ordinates mean anything to you?"
"No, no, no, no." Worry wrote itself rather quickly across Romana's face. "This is not good. Mondas."
Amy immediately confused, quickly replied, "What's so bad about Mondas? It's a deserted plate, right?"
"It might not be. It's the home of the Cybermen."
Part 2 coming soon.