Hi everyone, sorry for the wait!

A big shout out to The Sky, Cirque de Morte and Futatsu for their character submissions, they really made my day when I received them. For those who favorited, reviewed or subscribed - I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer: all known characters are owned by BBC.

The rest of my a/n will be at the end, so enjoy the chapter...


1 - A New Adventure

Rose found the Doctor in his usual place in the control room, bouncing around the console; a wide grin stretched across his face as he seemed to push random buttons and pull levers left and right. It was almost dizzying to watch him when he was like this. She knew the Doctor must have found something incredible - and he hadn't even begun talking yet.

"So, where are we going, Doctor?" Rose asked as she approached the bench.

He spun around. "Good morning," he grinned at her. "How'd you like to go skating on a moon?"

She frowned. "Not in a spacesuit, I hope." She couldn't imagine how hard that would be to move around in, never mind the fact that the last time she saw one, she'd been positive that she was going lose him. Rose wasn't too keen to repeat anything like that again. They'd been lucky so far, but with everything that happened recently, she didn't want to chance it.

The Doctor turned back to the controls for a moment. "Why would we do that?" He scoffed, shuffling to grab a dial on the other side of the controls. "Too stuffy, besides, they have a bio dome, so it's perfectly safe." He glanced back over to her again and, noting her expression, added: "Safety is a huge concern in the thirty sixth century; too many people got themselves injured on various gigs around the galaxy. You humans find some very interesting ways to get hurt, you know that?"

She rolled her eyes. "And you haven't?"

"Cheeky."

The whirring started up again and Rose couldn't help grinning. The Doctor beamed back at her.

"You know, you never said where we're going," Rose muttered as she watched him lunge towards another set of controls to flip a few switches. "Could be anywhere…"

"Well, sometimes that's the best bit about all this," the Doctor replied over the engine. "And hold that down, will you?"

Rose reached for something that looked vaguely like an old gamer's joystick. "This thing?"

"Yeah, that one." He cranked some other lever over to her right before continuing. "Europa."

"What?"

The Doctor met her eyes for a moment. "That's where we're going," he said as he braced himself against the console. A moment later the TARDIS jolted and Rose struggled to keep her balance. "One of the first known moons of Jupiter, discovered by Galileo – brilliant man, although he really should've taken my advice - that haircut didn't suit him at all." The Doctor glanced over at her again. "You can let go of that now, by the way." Rose blinked and complied.

The whirring died down and Rose stared at the console for a moment. "That it?"

He frowned. "Yeah, why – is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just that usually the landings are pretty rough."

"Are you mocking my driving skills?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and failing to look serious.

Rose glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I seem to remember a few times where we were knocked clear to the ground..."

"Oi!" She laughed as he coughed. "Well, the TARDIS doesn't always agree with where we land sometimes. Sentient being and all that."

"All right, Doctor," she conceded. Although she was sure that he was making part of it up, Rose figured it would be better to let him win this round. There was somewhere new to explore, so why waste time standing around inside? She made her way to the doors before turning to him once again. "You coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied, grinning, and linked her arm in his.

Rose smiled at him and together they pushed the doors open. When she took the chance to look around her, however, she was met with a sight that she clearly didn't expect.

"I guess they got really retro here," she murmured as she caught the Doctor's sheepish expression. "We're in London again, aren't we?"

They'd arrived on a side street somewhere in the central area of the city, nowhere near the Powell estate. Beyond that were the familiar sights of pedestrians rushing past, mostly in some sort of hurry. Rose could hear car horns blaring and shook her head as an iconic double decker bus whizzed by, eyes watering a little from the sudden gust of exhaust fumes that followed behind it. She'd been used to it before, but most places Rose had been to hadn't really had cars - past or future. Looking out further, the tower for Big Ben was also easily noticeable from this distance, peeking above several shorter buildings surrounding it. She knew it: they always arrived in this city unintentionally - well, apart from visiting her mum, that is.

Rose frowned. Usually there was some kind of trouble that'd show up later. Always after they'd had a bit of a wander around the general area. Although, then again, that was a normal occurrence when traveling with the Doctor. The only question was when it would turn up. She'd most certainly be keeping her eye out for it, especially after hearing his warning the day before.

The Doctor sighed in resignation. "Yeah, twenty first century too, by the looks of it." He nodded to himself after a moment. "I'd say it's early 2014."

"Not too long after we left then, yeah?" Rose muttered, glancing around again. The side street was fairly narrow, lined with a couple of pot holes which she was sure wouldn't have been there two years prior for the Olympics. They were standing in the middle of a cluster of two storey buildings, the bricks appearing a bit worn with a few areas covered in illegible words and other such graffiti artwork. She was relieved that the only one she could read said omega rather than Bad Wolf. The last thing she needed was another reminder of how she nearly lost her Doctor; at least this was merely some gang name spray-painted recently.

"You're right," he conceded. "It isn't."

"Even though it's not that moon you wanted, we may as well have a look around anyway," Rose said after a bit of silence, all the while approaching the street corner, the Doctor in tow. Surprisingly he didn't resist. "We're here, so why not?"

He smiled at her. "Which way?"

"Left."

"All right, Rose Tyler," he agreed as they turned the corner onto the main street. "Left it is, then."

...


Rose reckoned they'd spent at least half an hour wandering aimlessly around the city. She'd initially thought of stopping by the estate for a quick look, but the Doctor insisted that it was too much of a risk. We don't know what's happening here and now, it's possible that we're already here, or have been recently - he'd warned her. It was easy to see his logic in it as well. Running into herself would be fairly awkward, not to mention that it might cause another paradox. Rose shivered slightly at the thought; there was something else she'd rather not experience again.

"You all right, Rose?" The Doctor's voice startled her for a moment.

"Yeah," she replied, giving him a small smile. "Just thinking."

"Are you sure you don't need to talk about it? You were like this yesterday, too," he frowned in concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"If you say so..." he trailed off as they meandered down the sidewalk. He led her around another corner at a major intersection which appeared to be sealed off. "What's this then?" He muttered to himself, his expression immediately brightening. She nearly laughed at his sudden change in mood; he was such a child at times...

"Must be something important, don't you think, Doctor?" Rose asked while trying her best to see what was going on in the distance. There was a massive crowd of people huddled around a wide line of traffic barricades up ahead. Cop cars lined one side of the road, and policemen were spread out next to yellow tape picketed around them, beyond the saddle-horses and witches-hats, reading "police line do not cross" in bold black letters. Rose could have sworn she'd seen a few other official vehicles back there as well, but she couldn't be sure.

"Definitely seems like it," he agreed, his grin widening almost comically. "Shall we go in for a closer look?"

She frowned. "Through those crowds? I think it would take a while."

"Oh, come on, Rose," he said, beaming. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Pushing through a huge crowd really isn't much of an adventure, Doctor," she quipped. "Probably got pickpockets in there, too." She faltered at his expression, and sighed. "Fine," she relented. "Let's shove through and look." Daft alien...

He grabbed her hand eagerly and they linked fingers. She struggled to keep up as he practically ran straight for the middle of the commotion, earning a few shouts of indignation as they pushed past all those milling around the police tape. Rose was almost knocked over a few times when someone refused to make room for her and the Doctor to pass, although luckily he was able to steer her away quickly enough.

By the time they neared the barricades, Rose found that they had to stop. Ahead of them weren't just police, but also media vans with their reporters and camera crews nearby. Further away, closer to the next intersection she could just barely see it beyond all the chaos. A large crater dominated what used to be a construction site off the side of the road. She wasn't close enough to see what was in there; several military vehicles blocked her view. Beside her Rose knew that the Doctor was probably already planning some way to get them through.

The Doctor's grin only grew as a nearby reporter's words filtered over to them through the noise of the crowd, although she couldn't make much sense of it over the din. Rose was sure that only a few of them were necessary to get his attention: they thought it was alien. When the Doctor directed his gaze to her, her suspicions were confirmed and she could could only smile back.

"You ready to be part of history again, Rose?" He asked her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah," she said, returning the gesture. "Let's go."

The Doctor tugged her along as they passed the remaining few groups of people between them and the police tape. As he approached the constable he let go of her hand, instead reaching into his pocket to pull out the psychic paper. Rose had to stifle a smile at that, and wondered what his story for them would be this time.

"'Afternoon," the Doctor said cheerily, drawing the policeman's attention to him. "Would you mind letting us through? We have important research to conduct today. You know, samples to collect and analyze, reports to make, and so on. Tight schedule and all that."

The constable frowned. "Sorry sir, only authorized personnel are permitted beyond this point, so you'll have to stay here."

The Doctor gave a sigh that gave him an air of annoyance. "My assistant and I are really pressed for time here," he glanced down at the shorter man's badge. "Captain. So if you wouldn't mind..."

The constable opened his mouth to protest, but Rose had to strain to keep herself from laughing when the Doctor finally flipped the little book open and held the psychic paper under the other man's nose. The constable froze, eyes widening as he read it, pausing for a moment to glance between her and the Doctor.

"A-appologies, sir, I didn't realize," the policeman stuttered, reaching behind him for the tape. "They should have sent a message down about this," he continued. "It's protocol."

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, that won't be necessary," he drawled, clapping the startled policeman on the shoulder. "We were in a bit of a hurry; probably beat the message here, I think. With a discovery like this? I'm sure you understand."

The constable nodded fervently. "Of course, sir," he agreed. "I'll let this one go then, shall I?"

The Doctor smiled. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all!" The constable lifted the tape and beckoned them over. "Come through quickly now," he said. "We don't want civilians in amongst this mess."

Rose hurried after the Doctor as he ducked under the police tape, catching a few disappointed glances from the crowd behind them as they craned to see. She could sympathize with them a little; it wasn't every day that something like this happened on Earth, especially in full view of the public. She found herself once again considering how lucky she was to be traveling with the Doctor as she followed him over to the crater and further from the public eye.

"Good luck with your thesis, Professor!" Rose heard the constable call out from behind them. The Doctor stopped and turned to give him a wave before they continued on.

Rose frowned. "What did he see?" she asked him.

He grinned. "Apparently I'm a professor who's been called in from Oxford," the Doctor opened the paper again so she could look.

She snorted. "Head Geologist? I'd have thought it would be more alien related."

"Well, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves, can we? Don't know what's over there just yet - I mean it could be anything. At least we managed to convince him," he replied, shoving the psychic paper back in his pocket. "That's all that really matters. Besides, it said you were research faculty, too."

"Least it's better than being lunch lady," Rose muttered as they started walking again.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" She raised her eyebrows at him. Being stuck serving food in a cafeteria setting wasn't something she had wanted to do while tracking down aliens, and the hairnet was a complete pain, too. He dropped the matter almost immediately.

...


It took a bit longer than Rose had expected for them to reach the edge of the crater. The pair were were stopped practically every few hundred meters by security personnel demanding to see their credentials. The Doctor would then pull out the psychic paper and repeat the same story he'd told to the first guard, although Rose couldn't help noticing an embellishment here and there.

"Don't push your luck," she'd muttered to him as the last officer let them through.

He glanced over at her. "I'm not."

She shook her head. "'Course you are," she replied. "You keep saying extra stuff; what if you forget?"

"Timelord, Rose," he replied, gesturing to himself. "We don't forget things that easily, it comes with the long lives."

"What, the superior stuff again?" She scoffed, and then motioned to the psychic paper. Maybe that would help prove her point. "Ever had that fail on you?"

"No," he said, slipping it back in his pocket. The Doctor frowned. "Well, there was this one time-"

Rose sighed. "So it has."

"Well, yes, but-"

She grabbed his hand. He glanced down at them before looking at her. "Just don't chance it, all right? We haven't had to go through so many guards before and I'd rather not end up in a cell again."

He smiled softly. "All right," he agreed. "I won't."

She couldn't help smiling back. "Thanks."

The Doctor linked their fingers again for the umpteenth time that day and tugged her along gently behind him. Rose was relieved to see that there weren't any policemen up ahead, so at least they didn't have to worry as much about a cover story. She was sure that there'd be other people nearby, but they'd most likely be easier to convince - the Doctor could just be himself at that point. Not like he hadn't been already, though.

The crater was of course much larger up close. It seemed to take up at least half of the building previously under construction along with the entire block beside it. Rose frowned. What about the people who lived in this area, had they been able to escape in time or had it been too late? Bricks from the surrounding area were strewn haphazardly around the edge of the crater, along with metal and wooden supports from residences and businesses that hadn't survived the destruction. A sign advertising a book store lay amidst the rubble, singed and bent in some areas but still legible in the mess.

Rose peered over the edge. "Looks a bit steep," she muttered, vaguely wondering how they'd get down there - or even if they would be allowed. "Don't you think so, Doctor?"

"I guess so," he agreed. "But in terms of craters, this isn't very steep at all. Whatever it is that landed here wouldn't have been very big." The Doctor moved closer. "Probably something the size of a beachball or smaller. Although that's way above average for a meteorite, the usual maximum size for one of those would be a golf ball - and those aren't very common at all. Most just get broken down in the Earth's atmosphere before they even reach cloud level, and those that do get through are no larger than a pound coin."

"Really, only that small?" Rose asked as she stared at the crater. Could something that small really cause this much damage simply by falling?

"Yeah," he replied. "Considering how far it has to fall to reach the ground, even a tiny object would still make a huge enough mess. Now, a larger object, say something roughly a kilometer wide - well, that could destroy an entire city. Bigger than that could threaten the whole planet."

Rose glanced up at him. "Good thing it's small, then," she muttered.

"A bit sad for this street, though," he agreed, looking around. She nodded.

"I guess we could ask them what's going on," Rose said, pointing at a small group of people huddled together at the center of the crater. From the looks of it they'd already found whatever had fallen, as they were crouching down in a sort of half circle around it.

"All right, Rose Tyler," the Doctor grinned. "Let's go."

Rose knew it would take a while for the two of them to negotiate their way down the side of the crater. She'd nearly found herself slipping over the rocks and rubble, glad that the Doctor was nearby to catch her before she fell. It was still a bit embarrassing, though, even if he didn't comment on it.

She also expected the group to notice as she and the Doctor finally slid down to the bottom. And she wasn't disappointed; the second her feet touched the ruined soil one of the women in the group lifted her head and stared at them, the rest following suit.

"Who are you," she called, standing up to face Rose and the Doctor properly. "You do realize that this is a restricted area, right?"

Rose wanted to tell her off but the Doctor beat her to it. "Hello, I'm Dr Smith and this is my assistant, Rose Tyler, but you can just call me the Doctor. Security let us in, but I can show you our papers if you'd like."

The woman raised an eyebrow at his casual tone, but seemed content to let it slide. "Seems fair," she consented, slowly approaching them. "I'm Dr Fergusson and I'm in charge of the investigations here." Fergusson held her hand out and the Doctor and Rose each shook it.

After the initial introduction Rose watched on as the Doctor made sure to repeat their cover story, providing the psychic paper as proof. She was relieved when no one questioned it; even though it had worked so far Rose still worried that someone would see through it somehow, despite the Doctor's past reassurances.

"So, do you need us to brief you on everything or have they already told you?"

Fergusson was a petite, dark-skinned woman who seemed to Rose to be constantly annoyed by something. She didn't stop frowning, which Rose found odd. The Doctor appeared to take it all in his stride, though, smiling exactly as he had when they first arrived at the intersection.

The Doctor glanced around, considering. "Perhaps a quick description would be helpful," he said. "When I was contacted about this, the person on the other end couldn't seem to get past the idea that some meteorite fell in this area."

Fergusson frowned. "I guess you haven't heard much, then," she mused.

"No," the Doctor agreed. "But I'm sure just taking a look at it would answer most of my questions, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course," she said, nodding. "That's certainly understandable. It's over here," Fergusson turned and motioned for Rose and the Doctor to follow. "We're not exactly sure what it is," she continued as they approached the object. "But it's certainly not a meteorite. The material is completely unrecognizable. I'm not sure how you'll be able to help us, really."

The Doctor shrugged. "Oh, you never know. Maybe I'll find something - another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt, would it?"

Rose smiled at that. After hearing Fergusson's description she was sure that he would know exactly what it was, either that or at least have an idea. The rest of the scientists surrounding the small object noticed their arrival and moved to make room for them. She nearly laughed as the Doctor practically flung himself at it to get a better look, a manic grin stretched almost impossibly across his face.

"Your associate seems to be rather passionate for his field of study." Rose turned slightly to see one of Fergusson's team standing next to her, watching the Doctor's actions with an air of amusement. He was rather tall, almost taller than the Doctor, with a kind face.

Rose did laugh then. "Yeah, he's always like this when he encounters something strange or new."

"I can see that," the man chuckled. He held out a hand. "Steven Clarke."

She shook it. "Rose Tyler."

"How long have you two been working together?" Steven asked as they watched him study the 'meteorite'.

Rose couldn't help but smile at the question. "About two years now," she replied. "It's always great fun; we meet all sorts of people and see new places. Wouldn't trade it for anything." Steven looked like he was going to say something else, but Rose never got to hear it.

"Rose," the Doctor called out. "Come see this, it's absolutely brilliant!"

Rose rushed over as he was examining what looked like an oddly shaped chunk of metal, turning it this way and that. "What is it, Doctor?"

He glanced up as she crouched down next to him. "Our team of researchers were certainly correct, this is no ordinary meteorite. But it isn't part of a satellite, either."

She frowned. "It's broken?"

"Brilliant, Rose Tyler." The Doctor grinned at her. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it is." He flipped it over to show her the other side. "See this edge here?" She nodded, leaning closer to look. "The line is jagged and these patterns on the side certainly continue, so there's a missing piece somewhere."

"But where would it have gone?" Rose asked. "Wouldn't they have found it already?"

"Not if it didn't want to be found," he said. "Whatever was inside probably escaped, this container most likely opened on impact with the ground, so it's probably somewhere nearby."

"Do you know what it is?"

The Doctor grinned. "Nope. The sonic didn't recognize the organic material that was inside, which is rather odd now that I think about it." He frowned. "Hope it's not malfunctioning."

"So it is alien," Rose breathed, staring at the container.

"Yeah," he agreed. "And I want to find out what it is."

...


Rose paused near the crowd at the intersection to catch her breath. "So why did we run again?"

The Doctor sighed. "UNIT," he frowned. "I don't feel like getting tangled in their politics again. I've dealt with them enough times already."

"UNIT?" She echoed. "Who are they?"

"Let's just say that they're a team similar to Torchwood."

"Oh. How-"

"How do I know them?" He interjected. "I worked with them once, but that was a long time ago. Every time I run into them they seem to want to drag me into their affairs."

"That's a bit inconvenient," Rose muttered as they approached the barricades again.

"Yeah, funnily enough the first time I encountered them was also about meteorites."

"Bit of a coincidence, don't you think, Doctor?" She asked.

He frowned again. "Now that you mention it, it is odd..."

The guard from earlier was still there and smiled at their approach. The Doctor and Rose smiled back.

"Did you find what you needed?" The constable asked them as he lifted the police tape for them to duck under.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, yes and no," he replied. "Although I have a few reports I have to fill out now. Thank you so much for your assistance earlier, this brings us much closer to what we were searching for."

"Glad to be of help. You two have a good afternoon, and careful on your way out of that crowd. I swear it's grown since the pair of you went back there." The constable motioned over to the crater with his free hand.

"We'll remember that, thanks," Rose said, following the Doctor under the tape and back into the crowd.

The Doctor grabbed her hand and led her through the people milling around. This time there weren't as many getting in their way; instead they were allowed to pass, which was a huge relief to Rose. She just wanted to leave the area and perhaps stop at a chip shop to think things through. Perhaps they'd find one on the way back to the TARDIS.

Rose nearly fell over as a teenage girl collided with her and the Doctor at the edge of the crowds. She was disappointed to find that she didn't even provide an apology, instead the girl simply disappeared into the crowd as if she was never even there. The thing that stood out the most about her was the shock of vivid purple hair pulled back into a ponytail and dark rimmed eyes that seemed to stare at her in challenge.

"Are you all right, Rose?" The Doctor turned and asked after the girl ran off.

"Yeah," She said. "I'm fine. A bit rude though, wasn't she?"

He nodded. "Why don't we go back to the TARDIS for now," he suggested. "We can look around for the rest of that container later."

"All right," Rose agreed. "But we have to stop for chips first."

The Doctor grinned as he linked their fingers again. "Sounds like a plan."

...


So, that's the official first chapter. It took some time to get it started, since it refused to cooperate with me. (I was also planning to write another scene in this, but from the way it played out it just didn't seem to fit anymore.) After that it was much easier since that was all ready to go. Getting their speech patterns was also a bit of a struggle and I'm hoping I pegged them all right.

As you all may have noticed I did include a few canon references in here. Cyber cookies to those who can spot them. I'll most likely put a few more in here and there, as a bit of a nod to the original storyline, but it won't be a major contributor to my plot.

Hope you enjoyed it, guys.

I have to say, though, I really enjoyed writing the Doctor's rambling mini lectures on moons, craters and meteorites (I swear, his rambling sounds like me sometimes). Finally - somewhere to use my knowledge...

Anyway, most of the main plot-line has already been planned out. What's left is all the more intricate details that I'll be fine tuning as I go. So far I can say that this will have at least two or three main arcs which will become self-evident as we go along. Each arc will be broken into smaller parts, the length of which hasn't been set in stone.

This is where you all fit in. I need more OCs, guys! They help build my story and I don't have enough yet as I'm hoping to build a fairly large cast. Send me your character via PM with all the details that you think are important, then I'll see how to fit them in (if you're stuck on what details to add, you can use the guide on my profile).

Thanks for reading, and until next time peace out!

Shadowcaster01