He still felt horribly guilty for it. He should've worked harder at figuring out a way to get back to her. He supposed what had always been true with the rest of the universe was true for her as well; he couldn't always protect her, and he couldn't save everyone. Despite all the loss, all the tragedy, he was grateful she was still alive. His Rose. She was a smart girl, a clever girl, stronger than she might ever imagine herself to be. He wouldn't say it right now since she'd just lost the last of her friends, it seemed, but he was proud of her for remaining strong and surviving.
He'd seen the methods this man, whom he heard in her mind, called the Torchwood Killer had used to get to her, and that only fueled his anger. The feelings they had for each other had been difficult enough to live with, given that there was no chance of them ever reuniting (well, had been, until now), and now to know that this killer had used Rose's against her to trick her, and consequently ruin her...the Doctor was above killing others, but the desire was there. A desire he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
"Alright. The Hub it is," he said, giving her a little smile of reassurance, even if it was to be lost due to the current circumstances. Glancing behind him as the police and medics and such rushed in their various vehicles towards the building, he nodded in agreement, they better get out of there fast. Though, the name she mentioned caused him to pause. "Doctor Jones? Martha Jones?"
By the tone of her voice, he took it that if it was a parallel version of Martha, it wasn't a good one. This world did become stranger and stranger, and all the while more and more difficult. He watched her move and nodded, quickly following behind her, having no desire to be taken in for questioning of any sorts.
"Lets get back to the Hub first then I want you to tell me everything. I'd rather be on safe ground...never know who's listening."
Back at the Hub he'd check for any bugs. The abilities of this other Doctor couldn't be underestimated. For all they knew, he could be back there and waiting for them. If he was...the Doctor would be ready. It was occurring to him more and more that the energy and rules of this world had him at a greater disadvantage, and it was quite possible that death was the only way of stopping this other man. It was unfortunate, but that was war. And that was precisely what this was. A war of humankind against his other self.
Catching up to her, he took her hand and squeezed it tightly. The happiness of their reunion would be celebrated later. First, there was work to do.
As he said Doctor Jones, it caused a curious brow to rise. She already knew, from his thoughts that he'd travelled with others. They weren't quite clear, but he had seen the two women, Doctor Jones and the red-headed woman; a red-headed woman who didn't exist on this world, thankfully, she'd hate to see what monster she would have been here. It was bad enough that Rose already had plenty of enemies that wanted her dead, she really didn't to add to that list.
"The one and only," she replied with a twinge of bitterness. She knew the good ole, Doctor Jones all too well. The stupid woman had tried to poison her once, which backfired, but still. She was grateful that not everyone on this world was evil; her team was great, while they had been alive-
As she was walking, or more like limping along, she felt The Doctor take her hand and squeeze, which caused her to glance over at him, a brief smile flickering at the edges of her lips, appearing for the briefest of seconds before fading into the tight, thin line she'd been carrying for so long now.
A few minutes later, they were drawing closer, she could see the SUV up ahead, but instead of walking directly towards it, she stopped dead in her tracks. Now, she's not psychic by any means of the imagination, but she could swear that something wasn't right. It took only a few seconds to realize that the SUV had been moved from where she had left it.
Still holding his hand, she reached out with her and grabbed his arm, hoping to keep him from getting any closer, whispering to him. "Wait, something's wrong. I did not park there. The SUV has been moved."
Hazel eyes darted around the area nervously, but she didn't see anything else wrong with the picture. Maybe it was the concussion, or maybe it was her intuition, all she knew was something was terribly wrong.
"Wait here…" she whispered to him quietly, as she let go of his arm, pulling her hand out of his. He was a guest on this world, this place had become her home. So she felt like she should check things out, all because she didn't want him to get hurt. She didn't have to do that, but she wanted to make sure he was safe. She didn't want him to risk another regeneration; if that was even possible without his T.A.R.D.I.S. nearby.
She only walked a couple of steps before she saw it; the rifle that she had taken into the warehouse; the laser rifle that she had planned on using against the evil Time Lord. Carefully, she edged forward a little more, kneeling down beside the rifle, inspecting it. "This shouldn't be here…" she muttered softly to herself as she reached out to touch it.
"Huh. Back on Earth, the normal Earth, she's a good friend. Saved my life, and the rest of the world while she was at it. If we ever get back to the normal Earth, I'll have to introduce you to her." Despite all his wisdom, the Doctor was a bit clueless in realizing that might be a bad idea, seeing as Martha had developed feelings for him, something he wasn't entirely aware of. His own thoughts had always been on Rose, never realizing the emotions others might feel towards him. "Wonder what she'd think of her other self. That's going to be a bit strange, seeing her," he muttered, squeezing her hand a bit more tightly. "Wonder if there's a version of Donna here too," he wondered aloud. If Martha was as evil on this world as Rose had described...Donna would've been a total nightmare. A slight smirk had to be suppressed, despite the fact that it was going to be very difficult facing off against an evil version of a good friend.
He glanced down at her, catching that brief smile and returning it. Despite her pain, despite the strange and unfortunate situation they found themselves in, he wanted to see her happy. No matter how high the tragedy, if he could get a smile from her...then he knew things would be alright. Hopefully. Maybe. Who knew. At least it gave him a little bit of hope.
As they drew near the SUV, he could sense the faintest of presences. The killer had been there, though he was now long gone...or hiding. Who knew what the man could manage on this world? As Rose told him something was wrong and to wait there, he of course didn't listen. He'd lost her once, he wasn't letting her away from him, not while this other man was about. "Rose, be careful," he said, hurrying after her, taking hold of her arm once he caught up with her.
He took out his sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the SUV and the gun, quickly grabbing hold of Rose and forcibly pulling her back from it as she moved to touch it. "NO! It's been tampered with. I...I'm not sure what but I'm getting weird signals from it. Come on, we'll go by foot. I know you're in pain, and I'm sorry, I'll do what I can for you when we get back, but we need to get away from this car and that gun."
Arm around her shoulders, he started to guide her away. No one could be trusted, nothing could be trusted. Strange things were afoot, stranger than normal, and the Doctor found himself at a disadvantage. "I need to know if Torchwood has files on Time Lords, if there are any others in the universe. I need to know how similar and how different they are to me."
The biggest trick would be figuring out how to work the energies of this world. He had his own life force as a power supply, but that was a reservoir for life or death situations only. This was not his world, but there had to be a way to gain an advantage.
"If we see her," Rose interjected quickly. She had no plans on seeing Doctor Jones, mainly because of how she practices her medicine.
She hadn't gotten very far away from The Doctor when he caught up with her and grabbed at her hand, causing her to give him a quick glance. She should have known better than to think he'd just wait in place. He had always run headfirst into danger, at least when she had known him. He had very rarely shown fear for his life, even when he had regenerated into this current form.
Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she gave a slight gasp of surprise as he pulled her away from the rifle. Hazel orbs gazed at him, half annoyed, half understanding. The weapon had been tampered with, which means that he still must be somewhere nearby; the thought caused her gaze to dart around the perimeter of the surrounding area. The hairs on the back of her neck had risen, and she had the clearest sense that someone was watching them.
Shuddering, she allowed him to lead her away from the gun and the SUV, allowing herself to lean against him slightly as her mind spun from the different possibilities, memories, him actually being here and the concussion she was suffering from. She knew that whatever had slammed her in the back of the head had caused a lot of trouble. But, at least now she had her Doctor back with her.
Leaning against him, she put her head on his shoulder as they walked, slowly towards the Hub which was still quite a few blocks off from their current location. They'd pass by Cardiff Bay shortly.
"Hmm?" came a muffled response to his words, lifting up her head to focus on him. Why was she suddenly so tired? The coffee buzz must have worn off. "They have vey few things on Time Lords, actually. But, there is more than one here."
She paused briefly as she tried to figure out how to word all of it. "There's only two that I know of. You…Well, the polar opposite anyway. We call him the Torchwood Killer; long story there. But the other, well…" she gave a small sigh. "I'll let you meet him. He's an ally of mine, helped me through a lot, since dealing with this maniac."
Stopping in her tracks, she glanced back at the SUV and rifle, noting haw far they'd gotten in just a couple of minutes. "Let's go to 10 Downing Street. He should be there by now. If my rifle and SUV were tampered with by the Killer, then it's a good bet to say that the Hub has been compromised too. Downing Street would be the safest place right now. He wouldn't dare touch the President." She had no idea how wrong that conclusion was; no idea that they weren't really safe anywhere, except for a few moments.
"Yeah. If. I've got a feeling that given how this place is going, that's inevitable."
He raised an eyebrow at her annoyed look. This wasn't his world but he knew when to be suspicious. Change of people, change of energies, but the same basic tactics of survival still applied.
He held her close against him as they walked, glancing around them. He began to question if any place around there was safe. With no allies around, this was going to be difficult. He'd won bigger battles before, though really, the biggest one couldn't really be called "winning." Not in his mind. Everyone had lost, there was no victory there.
Glances down to Rose were taken as they walked. She didn't look good, which made sense considering she'd been hit by debris back there. Once they reached a safe haven, he'd try to fix her up in the best way he could. He wasn't a doctor-doctor, but he did have some medical training, enough to patch her up enough for now.
"More than one?" he inquired, listening intently as she described the lack of information that Torchwood had, which created a problem since the only way would be through trial and error of things against the enemy to learn of his weakness, plus this other one. "Another ally sounds right helpful about now. Do you know if Gallifrey still exists? Was there a war? Or does this other Time Lord not know?"
He wondered who this other might be a parallel version of. Someone good, proving that not all the Time Lords in this Universe were evil...a good thing.
He nodded in agreement with her about the Hub possibly not being safe, as in truth, no place was likely very safe for either of them right now. "President? Why Rose, movin' up in the world, aren't you?" A Time Lord who was the President. And that's when it struck him, and his suspicion as to just who this man might be began to grow. If he was truly an ally as Rose had said, he'd take one, but if this was indeed his old nemesis...it'd take a lot for the Doctor to trust him.
In the meantime, President Harold Saxon was back in his office at 10 Downing Street, waiting for the report from Torchwood on the latest operation. It was getting bad, very bad, with the Torchwood Killer. The Master considered himself a pacifist, and didn't want to have to take more aggressive actions against this man, but it seemed that it was reaching the point where he had no choice. Torchwood was almost gone, murdered by this man, and now it seemed the Time Lord would have to stand up and take action against his fellow Gallifreyan, even if it meant losing his life. He had sworn to protect Britain, and so he would, whatever it took.
She wasn't sure how to tell him; she knew he partially blamed himself for what happened to his planet, but she didn't think any less of him. He was scared and afraid to die, he did what he had to, to save his own life, that didn't make him a coward in her eyes, it made her proud; if he had never left, she would never have met him and would never have actually lived her life, instead living in ignorance while Earth went to Hell-in-a-hand basket.
"No, Gallifrey doesn't exist here. The Time War happened here too," she answered softly, "As far as I know there are only two Time Lords left, and those are the Torchwood Killer and the Prime Minister."
She gave a small smile as he teased her, meeting his gaze, the humor sparking her eyes to life; this was the Rose he remembered, not the pained woman he met when she awoke. "Well, I had to do something since I was trapped here, huh?" A small chuckle came from deep within her as they changed their direction towards Downing Street.
The smile lasted only about a minute, the humor fading as she remembered the levity of the situation they were in. Pulling out her cell, she hit the speed dial, calling up to Saxon's office, but only getting the voicemail as the receptionist wasn't at her desk.
"Oh bloody Hell, he really needs to get a new secretary," she muttered and then spoke into the phone. "Harold, I'm on my way to Downing Street, to see you. I have grave news. I failed in taking the target down, he was expecting us. My team…Gwen, Owen, Ianto and Tosh are dead. I almost died with them…"
She glanced over at The Doctor as they continued to walk to their destination, still speaking to the voicemail. "I have found a friend, though. He saved my life and I'm bringing him with me. Please, don't be alarmed when you see him. I'll see you in a bit. Rose out."
Hanging up the phone, she put a hand to her head as a dizzy spell overcame her, the cell phone dropping from her hand and breaking upon the ground. "Bloody Hell." It only lasted a few seconds, but she had the sudden realization that she needed medical attention. She'd get the help she needs after the Killer was taken care of.
Shaking it off, she started walking again, leaning against her old friend for support and comfort, deciding to tell him more about the Torchwood Killer. "About the Torchwood Killer…We call him that because he's been going throughout history and killing the higher-ups off one by one. He had basically hid in the shadows doing it, until I came along. Apparently I put a kink in his plans. See, until I got here, he was succeeding very well. And then came me, with knowledge of the Time Lords, because of you, and I was able to help this world fight back. I have saved a lot of lives by derailing his plans. But…"
She trailed off, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from her reddened eyes. "It wasn't without consequences. Mum, Dad, Tony, Mickey…" her voice cracked at the mention of Tony. "I sat there while I watched him kill my infant brother, Tony." Her eyes drifted up towards him, wondering what his reaction would be.
"Ah," was his soft response as she told him of Gallifrey's fall. Of course. He imagined the Time Lords, were they anything like the ones from his Universe, would have done something about this Torchwood Killer should they have learned of it. This wasn't his world, but it certainly had its similarities. Sadness filled his face, as while he knew it wasn't his Gallifrey here that had been destroyed, it still was an echo of it, of sorts. That was the kind of pain you didn't forget. Ever.
The smile that rose to her face, small as it was, managed to push him out of the brooding look and force a little smile upon his own face. She looked more like herself when she smiled. It was his goal to save this place, and help to bring Rose back to normal. "I suppose so. Good girl. You get a biscuit later," he teased some more, giving her a gentle hug. He remembered their last meeting, on the beach. Oh, how he'd yearned to touch her, to tell her how he felt. He would in time, but not right now. Not yet.
He watched her pull out her phone, listening to the conversation with a grave look on his face. Harold? A Time Lord named Harold. He didn't have arrive at the President's office yet to know whose face he'd see. It was the Master. So they'd switched roles in life in this world, had they? Strange fate.
He frowned as Rose dropped the phone and visibly took a turn for the worst, his grip around her tightening, holding her up as best as he could. "You alright?" he asked softly, waiting until she was okay to start walking again, getting a better hold of her. If memory served him correct, they were almost there.
He watched as a police car flew by, no doubt on its way to the sight of the collapsed building. So many lives lost; it seemed judgment day for all those who would save this world from falling into the hands of evil; only he and Rose-and the Master-remained. Once contact with the President was made, any differences sorted out, he would make sure Rose was kept somewhere safe, and he and the Master would deal with the Killer on their own. He didn't want Rose getting hurt anymore than she already had.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said softly. He'd watched his own family get killed in the wars against the Daleks, and knew the horrible pain of it. Her brother's name brought a touched look to his face as he glanced down into her eyes. He wondered, if she knew his old name, would that have been what the boy had been called? Probably.
"We'll stop him," he reassured her again. "So you're absolutely positive the President is alright?" he asked. Given who it was bound to be, his skepticism was running high.
In the meantime, Harold had returned to his office and listened to the message, his hearts heavy as he heard the news. At least she was alive. The mention of this friend though...he shouldn't be alarmed? Just who was she bringing with her?
As the pair drew nearer, something within Harold's mind began to tingle. Another like him, but all the same not entirely, was coming closer. Something very strange, stranger than usual, was afoot.
When she had gotten dizzy and dropped the phone, she felt strong arms around her, holding her up, keeping her from hitting the ground. She was in bad shape, granted, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from her mission; and that was to eradicate the Torchwood Killer from this world-
By any means necessary.
"Just dizzy, I'll be alright." She said softly as she met his gaze, forcing a smile and small nod at him. He was genuinely worried about her, the way it had been years ago. Even though a part of her wanted to hug him, she had to keep her emotions under wraps. If the Killer had been there and not him, her haywire emotions would have gotten her killed. She's a soldier, damn it, she should know better than to let her emotions get the best of her.
She didn't see the police cruiser speed by, but she heard the wail of ambulances passing shortly after. Her heart jumped in her chest, was it possible that they were still alive? Doubtful.
Hearing him apologize brought the sadness to the forefront, but she quickly pushed it aside, shaking her head slowly, a soft hand placing on his arm compassionately. "Don't be, Doctor. There's nothing you could have done. You had no idea what would happen here. It wasn't even your fault I came here. Don't blame yourself, alright? No matter what has happened here, you're not to blame. I don't blame you for my being here. I don't blame you for my family and friends deaths. If anything, they were my fault. I got careless. When I first met him, I thought he was you and was so excited. I never even thought that there was an alternate version of you, even working for Torchwood, I didn't realize it till it was too late. Their deaths, all of them, are on my hands, not yours."
As she spoke, she allowed a hand to stray to his face, caressing it gently before taking it away and lowering it to her side once more. Glancing away nervously, as she had started to express her feelings for him, she cleared her throat. "We should probably get on our way, Harold is going to be waiting for us, assuming he gets the message."
She started off for Downing Street again, her change in demeanor apparent. She had changed while being here, but her feelings for him remained the same, even with that look-a-like running around trying to kill her and everyone else.
"Yes," she answered to his question about Harold, "he is. He is a good man, Doctor. I think you'd like him. He has taken very good care of me since I met him. And even better care of me since my family…" She took a deep breath and continued, "he's been a true friend through these hard times. Though we do have out differences, and disagreements about how to handle the Torchwood Killer, he is a good friend."
"You're going to need to have that head looked at. I'll do my best with it when we get to the Prime Minister's," he said, looking down into her eyes with the utmost seriousness. Were the circumstances different, he'd worry about her holding off on showing her emotions. Right now though, he could understand it. She'd just lost just about everyone. Except for him. And the Master. Or "Harold."
He frowned as she said it wasn't his fault. He still felt that he should've done something. He should've sensed the other Time Lords in this world, he should've...he should've done something. But things just hadn't worked out, had they? She shouldn't have been stuck in this parallel world in the first place. He should've figured out a way back sooner. He realized he just might be stuck here, but that was the least of his worries right now.
His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. The Killer was obviously still around, but what if there was a way he could get into the Doctor and Rose's world? The TARDIS was there, so was Donna, and Martha, and the others. If Donna saw him, she wouldn't know any better. The need to find the Killer grew even more desperate.
He looked down at her as she caressed his cheek, frowning at the nervous look. He knew how she felt about him, she knew he knew, why hold back from it? Was it because he had the same face as her greatest enemy? It pained him to see that in her. He loved her, and he wanted his old Rose back. Gritting his teeth for a moment, he continued walking with her. They were on Downing Street now; it was a matter of reaching the right building. He could see it up ahead, the flags out in the front marking it, the armed guards standing at the door. Did they know the enemy? Would they let him in? Psychic paper might not work in this case, if that was the case.
"We'll see about that," he said. He'd caught a glimpse of the Master's face when scanning her mind, but had thought that since the connection wasn't as strong as it might be, he was mixing up his own memories. Seemed it was something totally different then. "What kind of disagreements?"
Back in his office, Harold sensed the other Time Lord as nearly being there. Calling the guards at the front, he told them Rose was coming with someone, and to be sure to let them in. He took a seat at his desk, immediately rising from it and pacing, too antsy to remain seated.